Teen Titans: The Big Leagues
by Epsilon Indi
Summary: Ch. 9: Deep in the bowels of Slades' old lair, the Titans learn another stunning truth about their new enemies: they'll do anything to send their message... even kill. Beast Boy is nearing the end of his rope. Can he hold on? T, BB/Rae, don't own titans.
1. Chapter 1: Wake

(A/N: Hey folks, I'm Epsilon Indi, writer of X-Men: Evolution, Arrival and X-Men: Evolution, Hellfire. Nice to meet you all! This is my first foray into the world of Teen Titans, and I hope you enjoy it. I'm warning you now, it's BB/Rae, so if that's not your shtick then turn back now. Also, PLEASE review. Reviews are, as I'm sure most of you know, the metaphorical fuel for the fire, and it's what keeps me writing my stories. So read, enjoy, and review! Oh, also, note: I've fixed the paragraph spacing in this chapter.)

Silence. But, the young man noticed, inside the silence something was pushing them forwards. Towards one another, as they had been in the beginning. The biological misfit, the half- human half- machine, the demoness, the alien, and their traumatized leader. There had been no worry in the young man's heart as he pulled himself out of the rubble that had caught him in it's descent from it's place and now, after laying in his closet for almost a half hour as he regained his wits, worry flared in his heart. Not for himself, but for the others.

With a grim smile he realized that now his dirty clothes were the very least of his worries. His bunkbed had been thrown across the room, blocking the door. Well, considering that he was jammed awkwardly in his closet, which looked across his room (Which now hung at a fourty-five degree angle) and that the bed was wedged at the 'top' of his room, this was no small achievement. They had been hit with something, HARD, and it made the young man angry. Below him, where his bed HAD been, was the stone of the bottom of the bay, below the island on which they had made their home. If the house shifted, even a little, then his room would be flooded and that would be the end of him.

He struggled, then kicked the door to his closet clean off it's hinges, jumping out and sliding down the floor to the gray, wet stone below. He groaned as his chest flared painfully. But he couldn't worry about that now. He had to make sure his friends were ok first. He dug deep into himself, found what he was looking for. A giant gorilla was suddenly the sole occupant of the room, but easily twice as big as any male silverback. That, and the fact that it's fur was a deep forest green and it's skin a lighter green, made it very unlike any other. It reached up and, with a grunt, pulled the bunkbed out of the doorway.

The young man climbed out of his room and lay against the wall, panting. Just down the hall was the room of the one person he didn't think he could make it without. He struggled to his feet, ignoring the pain flagging in his chest, and gritted his slightly sharpened teeth, limping towards her room. His pointed ears flicked at every creak and groan. No breeze ruffled his forest green hair. He wrapped an arm around himself, as if to hold himself together. And Garfield Logan, better known to the world as Beast Boy, felt his heart jump slighly. Because a small, pained groan from behind the dark black door reassured him that she was still alive.

* * *

It was the dripping, really, that had brought the young princess back to awareness. There should be no dripping in her home, she decided. She squeezed her eyes open, and she realized what the dripping was- it was coming from her, her drool. She was pinned against the wall, in between her dresser. Her room was almost vertical, and she frowned. Her room should not be so, it was not right. Had her friends decided to play a 'prank' on her? It was quite likely.

But no, she realized, that this was well beyond the scope of their deeds. The lights of her room flickered. She gave a mighty heave, and the dresser (Which had been bolted down) ripped from it's legs and flew across the room. She held up a slim orange hand, and a green nexus of energy appeared around it. She examined her dimly lit room with some better lighting. Her communicator chirped; She stooped and picked it up. A face appeared on the screen.

"Friend Robin!" She exclaimed happily, wishing he was there, to help explain what was going on. His voice, crackly and laced with static, and pain, emitted from the small speaker on the burnished gold communicator.

"Starfire? Are you ok?" She nodded, eyes wide.

"Can you move?"

She nodded again. "Quite freely, friend."

Robin disappeared from the screen for a moment as he spun the comm around. It revealed that he had been pinned between his bed and the wall, his leg trapped. "I need help." He said in his gruff voice.

She passively wondered, as she tore the door to her room off it's hinges and flew down the hallway towards his room, how he had gotten his mask on. Did he sleep with it on? Or did he just keep it close at hand for just such a situation? She mused on this as she floated down the hallway, using light from her hands to show her the way. What she saw deeply saddened her. Rubble and broken items littered the ground. Holes in the ceiling, walls and floor showed that the entire tower was damaged severely. She frowned, as she neared her destination. What had happened to their home? And why?

* * *

The half-machine man opened his real eye and blinked blearily. His other eye, covered by a red lens that allowed him to see in many different spectrums, infrared, and anything else you could think of (Except a low ultraviolet color) flickered dimly, and powered up. His eyes widened, looking around his trashed room. He felt like the Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz, which they had watched just the other day. 'They took my chest out, and threw it over there! And they tore my arms off and threw 'em over there!' He was in a similar state of disrepair.

His torso and pelvis were connected to the recharging system, the wires behind him forming a faintly glowing blue web, connected into thousands of different ports. But his legs, and arms, had been knocked out of the grip of the mechanical arms responsible for putting him back together in the mornings. He groaned inwardly, then realized something. His mind was still connected to the mainframe, and he closed his eyes and focused hard, to turn the power back on.

The lights flickered. They remained off. But, further down, he was delighted to find that the landlines connecting them to the generator under the ground were still connected, and he booted up the tower mainframe. He was welcomed by handshake infra-signals and password input screens. But when he tried the passwords that should have re-booted the tower, he got goose-egg. He frowned a bit.

He realized, whoever had attacked them must have restored the factory settings of the mainframe. He couldn't remember the original password (He'd just hacked the system anyways- so much easier than looking for the manual) so he decided to just hack the mainframe. More handshake system-link and infra-structural signals. He danced around them. Childs play. He slipped into the system like a greased eel, purging the system and rewriting it in seconds flat. He regained control, and reviewed the security footage, curious as to the near-vertical flip of his room. Something rather big had hit the tower, apparently. But, the video files were corrupted, and he couldn't glean anything other then that. It had been knocked over. He closed his eyes and waited for one of the others to find him, as he knew that one of them would.

* * *

'Things could not get any worse'.

That's what the demoness had thought as she had gone to bed the previous night, early, as usual annoyed by Beast Boy's futile and repeated attempts to make her laugh and smile. She'd found that Beast Boy had upped his attempts since the Brotherhood of Evil had nearly finished them. And the night before Beast Boy's jokes had been especially corny, especially stupid, and especially funny.

And he'd gotten her to laugh, which hadn't improved her mood, because Cyborg and Robin just HAD to rub it in. But she'd found, much to her disappointment, that it could get worse, and lo and behold, it had. She woke up to find herself laying on the wall of her room. Luckily for her, all her belongings were bolted down. The shelves of her dresser, however, were not. They'd fallen on her, and while they were mostly empty, they still hurt. The books in her bookcase had fallen, and her head was throbbing. She groaned quietly, putting a hand to her head, and looking over to see one of her larger spellbooks next to her.

_I'm going to kill whoever said words can never hurt you._ Her mirror was next to her. Where were the the others? Why was her room vertical? She shook her head, picked up her mirror, and fell into Nevermore.

_Raven landed on the ground easily, as always. She looked up at the dark, abysmal space, which had turned from black to a shade of violet. It meant she was mending. She was able to more thoroughly express emotions, without blowing something up. She passed through the realm, looking around at all the portals. It started with white, Purity, though she had only tapped into her power three before. She started the spectrum. She looked up at the hot pink of Happy's portal. She could hear Happy laughing from outside. Keep walking, she thought to herself. Next was Angry. She considered talking to Angry about the previous night, but didn't feel up to the insults and ignorance. Ever since Trigon had been defeated, Angry had stopped being Rage… although she was still well, angry. _

_She passed that portal, lined with dark, bloody red. She looked past it, at the next portal. It went like a spectrum, starting at white, and going down the line, until it reached black, Bored. And after Bored , in full circle, was the white portal that lead to Purity. She kept walking past blood-red Angry, past russet- brown Intelligence, and saw Crass's orange portal. She didn't like Crass too much, it was tedious to deal with her being so… crass. _

_She passed Crass and saw the light yellow-orange portal, Exhuberance. Exhuberance was always so excited about everything, she took every emotion either felt to the extremes… so definitely not who she wanted to see. She looked up at the yellow of Wisdom's portal and sighed. She decided to remind herself of the other emotions… more had appeared after Trigon fell, Exhuberance being one of them. _

_Past Wisdom was light yellow- green of Jealous. She didn't like Jealous, only having met her once before. She looked past Jealous's portal to the forest green of Bravery. Past Bravery was the light aqua-blue of Serenity, whom she knew best, tapping into her whenever she meditated. Past Serenity was the deep blue of Sadness, another emotion she was familiar with, though she didn't like it that much. Past Sadness, was the deep violet color of Affection. She tried to avoid dealing with Affection, she was always ranting on about someone, but wouldn't tell her who. She had a sinking suspicion she knew. But, past Affection was Timid, and past Timid was Bored, and thus the cycle was complete. _

_She sighed. Enough stalling. She walked up to enter Intelligent's portal for some answers, but bounced off the barrier, a sharp pain in her forehead bringing her out of Nevermore._

She cried out a bit as her head snapped back. Blocked? How and why, would anyone block her from Nevermore? She tried to move, sat up a bit. A knock at her door.

"Rae?" A weak voice from outside. Beast Boy. He sounded hurt.

"Beast Boy?" She hauled herself to her feet and staggered over to the door. She hit the open button. Nothing happened.

"Beast Boy, basic systems must still be offline. Step back." She closed her eyes. "Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos!" She held up her hands. From the other side of the door, Beast Boy said "Uh, Rae? Anytime now." She growled. "Shut up, Beast Boy." From the other side of the door, she heard a slight noise.

"Raven, stand back." Beast Boy's voice warned her away from the door. The door flew off it's hinges, clattering up into her room. She looked into the hallway. Beast Boy was slumped against the wall, arm wrapped around his midsection. His eyes were squeezed shut, and his breathing came out in short, ragged gasps. She frowned. "Beast Boy?" She dropped down from her room onto the wall of the hallway below, next to him. His legs were on the floor, as if he were sitting with his back to the floor and his legs on the wall, had the tower been right side up.

"Beast Boy, you're hurt." She realized, his room was at the surface of the tower, so it must have seriously torn his room up when it landed. She peeled his hand back from the wound. He whimpered. She'd never heard him give any acknowledgement of pain like that. Usually he just shrugged it off. "Oh, Azar." Beast Boy's glove was covered in blood, as was his side. There was a ragged gash in his side, a serious one. "Beast Boy, what happened?"

He shivered, but his eyes stayed shut. "Hurts." Raven could feel his emotions. The pain of his side, which undoubtably opened more every time he changed.

"Beast Boy, why didn't this heal when you changed?"

He gasped again as she put a hand to his ribs. "Only works with… bones." He wheezed. She tried to summon her powers to heal him. She groaned weakly, an a light flicker washed over her hands. She focused harder. She exhaled. "Damn." She couldn't summon ANY of her powers. But she could still sense Beast Boy's emotions. Perverse irony, Raven thought, that she could still sense others emotions, but couldn't access her own. She tucked her mirror into her cloak, and threw Beast Boy's arm over her shoulders. He whimpered again as she lifted him. "Come on, Beast Boy, let's go find the others." She helped him along down the hallway. She needed to find the others. Otherwise, Beast Boy may not live through the night.

* * *

Robin hobbled after Starfire, who was floating slightly off the ground and providing them with light. A faint blue glow emnated from Cyborgs room.

"Robin!" Starfire looked up and pried the doors open. Robin limped over and looked up into Cyborg's room. He was still strung up to his recharge unit.

"Cyborg?" He opened his eye and looked down at them. "'Bout time you two got here, now would y'all please get me down?"

Starfire flew up, and began the meticulous process of unhooking their mechanical friend. "Friend Cyborg, do you know the location of Raven and Beast Boy?"

Cyborg nodded. "I do, and that's why ya gotta hurry."

Concern and confusion spread over Starfire's features as she lifted Cyborg's torso out of the web of tangled wires.

Robin frowned. "What do you mean, Cyborg?" He sighed. "It's BB. He's hurt."

Robin's mouth hardened into a hard line. Was it their attackers? Or just the fall? Cyborg must have read from his facial expression, because he blinked.

"The fall did it, Rob. It hurt him pretty bad. Raven's with him, but her Biomonitor reads that somethin's wrong- maybe head trauma, my systems signal ain't strong enough yet to be sure."

Robin narrowed his eyes in a very Batman-esque way. "In other words, she cant use her powers." Cyborg nodded. Starfire deposited him against the wall next to Robin.

"I will find your limbs, Cyborg, and then we can escape." Starfire floated back up into the room. "Friend Cyborg, I am most sorry, but the limbs in this room are unsalvageable."

Cyborg sighed. "Damn. We'll have to-" A low thump resounded through the hallways, followed by the tinkle of shattering glass. "I do not think that was Raven." Starfire said quietly. Robin pulled out a birdarang.

"Starfire, take Cyborg and let's go find Raven and Beast Boy. Now." She flew down out of the room, picked up Cyborg, and followed Robin down the dark hall.

* * *

Beast Boy's side ached, and every step he took made him feel like his side was being pulled apart. He couldn't shapeshift now, added to the pain that usually accompanied it he wouldn't be able to take the pain in his side. Raven was getting tired, he could tell- Her expression hardened every time they came to a bend in the hallways or a turn that would force them to either jump, or climb. Raven's head was clearing a bit, and she had regained menial control of her powers- she could lift small objects and break her fall gently. But, she couldn't fly, and she couldn't lift anything she wouldn't be able to lift herself.

Beast Boy lapsed in and out of consciousness sporadically, and every time Raven woke him he asked the same thing.

"Have ya found the others?" He would murmur. He knew it was grating on Raven's nerves. But he had to ask. He had to know. The seventh- or was it the eighth? He was losing count- time he woke up, he was stretched out on the ground, with a crude bandage wrapped around his chest. Raven was sitting against the wall with her head in her hands.

"R-Raven?" He croaked. She looked up at him briefly. "Shh. Rest. You're gonna need it." Fear started thumping in his heart as he heard footsteps approaching, and an alien scent invaded his head.

"No. Someone's coming. We need to get out of here." He said hoarsely. Raven's expression immediately became alert, and she hurried over to him, lifting him gently. Before they could get out of sight, they heard voices, and a light lit up the space in front of them.

"You're sure you sensed them, J'onn?" A stern voice said, and the green glow came closer.

"Quite certain." A gravelly voice. The light grew nearer, and the teens stood, rooted to the spot in fear.

"Raven." Beast Boy said. "Run. Leave me here. Just go." She looked into his pained, glassy eyes, and he nodded tiredly. "Go. I'll be ok, I promise."

He tried to give her one of his trademark face-splitting grin, but it came out more as a grimace of pain.

"I can't just leave you, you dunce." She hissed at him, trying to keep her voice quiet.

His expression hardened. "Just go, Raven. I'm wounded, and you can't use your powers. What use are we to the others captured or dead?" Her face pouted. He loved her face when she pouted, but he knew she hated it when he was right.

"Fine." She grumbled in her low monotone. "But I'm coming back for you with the others. Got it?"

He nodded weakly, then leaned against the wall, and Raven ran off. Beast Boy pulled off a glove. He looked at his hand with a certain amount of hatred. Then he unsheathed his claws. Claws he had sworn never to unsheathe unless he absolutely needed to. They reminded them of how much he had changed. He'd found out about them after the Beast manifested. Only Robin and Cy knew about them, and they had promised not to tell. He flexed his hands, and waited to start a fight he knew he could never win. The green light, and it's source, rounded the corner, and Beast Boy leapt at them with the ferocity of a cornered animal.

(A/N: Who could it possibly be!? For all of you die-hard DC fans out there, shouldn't take you too long to figure it out! And I've got some good plans for this story... muahahahaha...)


	2. Chapter 2: Justice

(A/N: Sorry about the wait, power went out. Dealing with some SEEEERIOUS storms over here!! Anyways, here's the second chapter of Teen Titans: The Big Leagues. I've tried to space it out more. Enjoy!)

Raven ran, as fast as she could. Behind her, she could hear sounds of combat, and a shriek of pain. _Beast boy. _She winced as the shriek echoed through the corridors of the tower. She'd never admit it to his face, but she had always admired Beast Boy. His unwavering smile, his determination, and above all, the way he strived to make her a part of the team. The way he strived to make her smile. She hated it, but at the same time it was what made him her friend. She floated down another shaft, and almost slammed into Starfire. She let out a startled 'eep' and stepped back, starbolts ready. Robin walked past her. "Raven! Are you ok?"

She nodded, closing her eyes for a moment. "Yes. Just… tired. And my powers aren't working. I think that it's because of this." She indicated the large bruise flourishing on her pale forehead. "How'd that happen?" Cyborg's voice came from Starfire's back.

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Cyborg? Why are you strapped to Starfire?"

Cyborg's voice again. "Not important. What happened?" Raven mumbled out a "A book fell on me."

Cyborg laughed. "Hah! And who said that words can never hurt ya?" Raven stewed silently.

* * *

Starfire's soft voice brought her back to reality. "Raven… where is Beast Boy?"

Raven closed her eyes. "The… the people who are in here with us got him." She saw Robin's mouth form a hard, tight line. Heard Cyborg's breath leave him, watched Starfire put her hands over her mouth.

"Then we have to go back for him." Cyborg growled. Raven shook her head. Sadness overwhelmed her, and she struggled to keep herself calm. Apparently she was getting the flow back, at least to some degree.

"He was too heavily injured… I… I don't think he made it." Her voice faltered. Robin closed his eyes behind his mask, Cyborg let out a very quiet 'no…' and Starfire's eyes started to tear. Sounds of footsteps rang out in the hall behind them.

"No time. Keep moving." Robin ran off ahead of them, and Cyborg and Starfire followed. Raven looked back down the tunnel for a moment more, then turned and followed them.

* * *

Robin tried to shut out his anger as he ran ahead of his teammates. "Cyborg, any idea where in the tower we are?" He whispered out of necessity.

"No, sorry Rob." They had been forced to haul themselves into a broom closet to avoid their pursuit. It didn't appear however, as if they had lost them. On the contrary; it seemed that they had only gotten themselves deeper into trouble. Voices came down the hall towards them, and an odd chirping sound that seemed familiar to Robin. Apparently Cyborg heard it too.

"Rob, you hear that?" He whispered. Robin shushed him, trying to remember. Why did it sound so familiar? A voice. "Bruce, did you hear that?" _Bruce? _Oh, crap. Robin's face hardened more, if it were possible.

He sighed. "Guys, we can come out now." Starfire frowned. "What makes you say that?" Raven intoned.

"Because. We're not being invaded. We're being… rescued." He gritted out through his teeth. Then he pried open the closet door and dropped out of the room. He saw the two figures he had been expecting look up, one with mild surprise, the other… well, not so much.

"Robin."

"Batman."

* * *

"So, lemme get this straight." Cyborg said. They had relocated to the jet hovering silently over the tower. "The Justice League came. To save us. From our own tower? Aww, maaan, I'd always thought we'd meet in like… battle against a supervillain. Not from bein' trapped in our own tower!"

He shook his head. He would have put his head in his hands if he could. Unfortunately he was still just a limbless torso. Beast Boy was hooked up to a very high-tech life support machine, and was being watched by Martian Manhunter.

Green Lantern was sitting by the controls, and Cyborg sighed a bit as Flash walked by munching on a hot dog. "Yeah, pretty much, big guy. O'course, the Green Team got back here first, and good thing, too. Your friend was not gonna last much longer." Cyborg didn't miss the look of shame and sadness that flitted for a second over Raven's features. He ignored it, and sighed. "Is BB gonna be ok?"

A new, gruff, deep voice rang out in the cabin of the jet. "He'll be fine." Batman strode into the room, Robin following behind him. They both had their shoulders hunched slightly and their capes covering their costumes.

Raven smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Well look at that, I can see the resemblance." Robin and Batman both turned to her and narrowed their eyes, mirroring each other's movements. Cyborg tried not to laugh. He knew Beast Boy would be cracking up if he were awake. Robin shook his head. "Whatever. Anyways, team, get ready to disembark, we're almost there."

* * *

"Almost where?" Raven got up and moved to the window, looking out. She blinked surprisedly as she saw that they were hurtling through space towards the giant satellite that acted as the Justice League's headquarters. Even Raven, who had lead a sheltered life, had heard of the illustrious Justice League of America. She knew that Robin had been Batman's protégé, but never would have guessed that Batman would be in the Justice League. He seemed like more the loner type. _Ironic, isn't it, that I'm berating another for being such a loner? That's the pot calling the kettle black. _She sighed, looking back at Beast Boy, who hadn't moved since having been brought aboard the jet. She worried for him. She worried for all her teammates, but especially for Beast Boy. She sighed a bit.

A green hand rested on her shoulder, and she turned and looked up into the alien face of the Martian Manhunter. "He will pull through." He said in his gravelly voice. "We have more advanced equipment at the Watchtower that will restore him to health much faster." She nodded at him, keeping her face carefully neutral. She turned back to the emptiness of space and pulled her hood up, examining the Watchtower as she slipped into deep thought.

* * *

Beast Boy woke up to the searing lights of the infirmary. How had they gotten the tower back up and running so fast? Or… A scary thought occurred to him. How long had he been asleep? He jerked his head up and looked down at his chest. White bandages covered his chest, and his shirt lay next to him, draped over his IV. He groaned, and started to sit up.

The strong voice he'd heard in the hallway rang out in the room. "Hey, Kid. Glad to see you're awake."

Beast Boy whipped around to see Green Lantern- THE Green Lantern- standing casually against the wall. "Name's Hal. Nice to meet ya, Beast Boy. Heard a lot about you from your leader."

Beast Boy groaned a bit. "Ugh. Everything?"

Green Lantern chuckled. "Everything Batman couldn't get out of our database." Another groan. "Apparently you appeared out of nowhere with the rest of the Doom Patrol."

Beast Boy rubbed his head. "Can I… get out of here?"

"Just put yer shirt on, kid, then Flash'll give you and your friends a round tour."

* * *

"And here, is the training room. State-of-the-art 3D blanket projector, built-in drones and anything your little minds can think of." Flash said, leaning against the doorway and allowing five awestruck teens to glimpse the giant room. "Wow…" Cyborg breathed, taking it all in, moving Robin aside with his temporary prostetic limbs to get into the room.

"Uh… uh… uh…" His mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. "It's… heaven." He ran into the center of the room, did a spin, fell back, and lay there with a dazed smile on his face. Beast Boy raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Cyborg? Are you sure your circuits didn't get a little twisted?" Unfortunately the big robot man was too blissed out to hear him. Raven smacked him on the back of the head. He blinked.

"Hehehe… Sorry." He rubbed where she had smacked him, grinning at her.

She rolled her eyes, sighing. "You are such a dork."

"You know you love it." Beast Boy's grin only widened.

"You're delusional." She raised an eyebrow and pouted, sticking her hip out to one side and crossing her arms. He loved it when she did that. She just looked cute when she pouted.

"Beast Boy, Raven, Starfire, Cyborg." The Titans looked over at their leader with mild surprise at the anger in his voice. "Come on. We've found a new lead on who attacked us." That got everyone's attention. They sped after Robin as he raced out of the room.

* * *

He led them to the Tower's big screen monitor, on the observation deck overlooking the planet. Beast Boy leaned against the railing and just looked at it below them, storm systems sworling across the surface. Robin flicked an image on the screen, and Beast Boy's eyes turned to that. On the screen was a picture of a greek mural, depicting a man covered in gold armor. He seemed to radiate light.

"Who… is that?" Cyborg walked closer and examined the picture closely. Beast Boy's eyes narrowed. The picture seemed familiar… something tugged at the edges of his memory. Back when he was just a baby, before the… accident that had left him with his powers, back when he still had a mother and father. Then his eyes widened and his ears flicked.

"Hyperion." He said. Batman, who was standing next to Robin, looked a bit impressed for a second. "Impressive. Yes, this is a picture of the Titan Hyperion."

Raven's eyes narrowed. How had Beast Boy known? If anyone, she should have known that. "How would you- wait, I remember now." She looked back up at the picture.

"Hyperion was the Titan that 'drove' the sun across the sky before the post was taken up by Apollo, the greek God of the Sun, among other things." Raven raised an eyebrow. "You're saying that a nonexistant diety from thousands of years ago is what knocked our tower over?" She snorted. "I find that highly unlikely."

Robin narrowed his eyes at her as if he were taking her assessment personally. "Any more unlikely than a cyborg, an alien, and a shapeshifter?"

Raven looked away, huffing a bit. He had her, there. He seemed satisfied at her reaction. "Exactly."

Suprisingly enough, Beast Boy leapt to her defense. "Robin… all that is one thing… a Greek myth to explain why the sun rises and sets is a different thing entirely." Beast Boy blinked and looked away from his leader's stern glare. He didn't usually speak out like that, against Robin or anyone else.

* * *

Raven blinked at Beast Boy for a moment before turning back to Robin for an explanation. But it was Martian Manhunter that answered her question. "My race is much older than yours. It's not so far-fetched to my eyes." He said. She still forgot how gravelly his voice was. She was used to the only green skinned boy in her life being Beast Boy… so every time the martian spoke, she expected him to sound like Beast Boy. Robin grimaced again, pointing to the video feet, and Raven narrowed her eyes in a very Robin-like way as she saw their tower begin to fall… and the large, muscled flaming _man_ standing at the base, ripping it off it's foundation.

* * *

Six pairs of eyes watched the Teen Titans base fall for the fifth time. "See, Brimstone, here, is where you made your mistake. You were supposed to slam the tower into the ground, not just tip it over." A smooth voice intoned, sounding annoyed. A growl reverberated around the room.

A large, red-skinned, smooth fist slammed the side of the circular hologram projector, shaped like the face of a clock. "You are quiet now, Chronos! Or maybe Brimstone is SMASH you!"

A deranged snicker from the dark on the other side of the table caught the one named Brimstone's attention. "Oh yes, Brimstone, you IS smash! Smashed stupid, that is." A cackle, and a green skinned, lightly clawed hand slid onto the glass lens of the hologram projector. "This… fine piece of technology should not be broken by the likes of an oaf such as yourself."

"Shut up, Tengu, you're just bent out of shape 'cause ya were trapped for the past few millenia." A growl, and the single eye seen from that end of the table narrowed. "Now let's just kill those little punks. To hell with the JLA, I want them dead."

A dark silhouette, eyeless, moved into view. "Ravager, if you do not silence yourself I will shut you up myself." The voice spoke softly. The one called Chronos waved his arm. "Enough. You are being foolish." A pair of sharp blue eyes stared out of an angled face, showing through the faceless mask that covered the rest of his head, with a white frame and stripe on it. A gold high collar showed, though the rest of his body was cloaked in darkness. "And as always… Time is running short."

* * *

(A/N: There ya go folks! Now, about my reviews for chapter one…

Half Empty Glass, thanks for the kind words.

To both Rosalind and Joey Bon, thanks for calling my attention to the paragraph thing, as you can see I've tried spacing it out here. Thanks to Rosalind for the kind words.

Joey Bon, I appreciate the criticism, although I would like to hear your thoughts on the storyline as well, because that review of yours was very eloquently expressed.

As for Melvis, allow me to tell you that the Flash that works on the Teen Titans is BART ALLEN, Not Wally West or, before him, Barry Allen. The Justice League formed before the titans did- With Martian Manhunter, Superman, Batman, Hal Jordan as Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and the Flash, AKA Barry Allen. This series started in 1960. Now, the version of the Teen Titans featured in this story and the TV series debuted_ twenty years later_, during 1980, with Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Cyborg, Raven, Changeling or Beast Boy, and Starfire, although Wonder Girl and Kid Flash aren't mainstream members in the show. See, I've done my research. This is all perfectly valid.)


	3. Chapter 3: Same Old Story

(A/N: Here ya go folks, chapter three of The Big Leagues for your enjoyment! Blues32: Dude! You've caught on to my plan! And I suppose your right, luckily for me I had Barry Allen as the Flash already anyways, so Kid Flash could be either Wally West or Bart Allen. I'm gonna go ahead and go with Wally West though, you're right in saying they're two completely different continuities. And, notice that it was only the TITANS who had trouble believing it was a myth, but that neither Superman, Aquaman or Wonder Woman have even been seen. Why could that be? Hmmm…)

* * *

Robin brought a steel-toed boot down on the head of one of the training droids. They had been assigned (To Robin's dislike, by his former mentor) to rest, relax, and (of course) prove themselves in the eyes of Batman by performing in a rigorous battle in the Watchtower's sim room. Three days had passed, though in space it felt like one, waiting for Superman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman to return from their mission helping volcano victims off the pacific coast.

A droid swiped at him, forcing his mind back into the present. "Titans, attack pattern Alpha- Beta- Nu, now!" Four voices rang out 'Roger!' 'Aye, Capp'n!' 'Yes, Robin', and 'Let's just get this over with.'

They regrouped in the center of the room, which was currently broken into three sections: One, a flat surface where they (And the bulk of the robot horde) were, and two revolving circles around the outside, covered in platforms and towers that rose and fell alternately, randomly. On the inner ring geysers of flame shot out every now and again, throwing the grey steel around them into sharp red relief. The second ring was just the same as the first, minus the geysers and moving three times as fast. Robin jammed a birdarang into the eye of a robot, and then leapt off it's back as a sharp swath of blackness neatly dissected and bissected the robot.

* * *

There was a clatter of broken steel as the training droid fell to the floor, a broken tangled heap of wires. Raven's eyes were glowing as she threw another blade of dark energy into the horde of robots. Beast Boy watched her as she disassembled four, five, six robots. He watched her fluid movements enviously, mouth wide open and gawking. It was only when a bot's arm whizzed by his head and nearly took it off his shoulders that he shook himself back to reality, ducking another ferocious swipe from the robot.

Beast Boy morphed into a gorilla, ignoring the customary pain that accompanied changing into a larger form and picking up the bot and tearing it in half, using the two halves to knock other bots off their feet. He gave a grim smile. Though he abhorred fighting, it seemed like his gift was good for nothing else. He morphed from a gorilla to a sasquatch, punching a robot in it's monochromatic eye. He smiled grimly again as the bot caved inwards like tinfoil. He grabbed it in one massive hand and hurled it into the group of robots trying to mob Raven to the ground.

Robin leapt over his head and jammed his Bo staff into the electronic eye of another bot, then twisted down with a growl on the staff. He leant back, the robot toppling forward. Robin planted his feet on it's midsection and pushed off, launching it into the air with a snarl. Beast Boy blinked, surprised at the show of viciousness. He jumped up and caught the bot out of the air, using it like a rock to smash down another robot. He morphed into an anaconda, wrapping around another bot and crushing it. It's eye popped out of it's head. If snakes could smile, he'd probably be smiling. He loved the sound of metal crunching. Probably an acquired taste from fighting all those sladebots.

Suddenly, a bot caught him around the neck with a large claw. Startled, Beast Boy reverted back to his normal form, growling at the bot. "Hands off, big guy!" He grabbed either side of the claw and pulled himself up, swinging his legs up and increasing his velocity enough to leave a fair sized dent in the robot, making it drop him and stagger backwards.

* * *

Cyborg grinned viciously, sweeping his new, upgraded sonic cannon across a group of enemies, nodding in a satisfied mannor as the beam cleared them away. "Booyah, baby! Cyborg's new- and- improved Sonic Cannon 2.0 can mop up the trash!" He pumped his other fist in the air, but a robot slammed into his back. His breath whooshed out of him, and he skidded to a halt. His human eye spun a bit, but he shook it off and smirked. "You may be strong…" He pulled his fist back for a high punch. The robot brought its gargantuan arms up to block the blow, and Cyborg feinted down and swept his boot up into the robot's gut, and was rewarded by the sound of metal crunching and wires sparking, as the robot dropped, internal hardware smashed. "But I'm a lot stronger.

* * *

Beast Boy landed lithely on his feet, and ducked a swipe from a large robot, using his size and agility to duck and weave between it's punches. He grunted as it clipped his shoulder, but ignored the pain, and morphing back into a gorilla. He grabbed the robot's arm and wrenched backwards until the machinery inside whined against the strain. Beast Boy lifted it up by the bent metal of it's arm and roared, dropping it onto his knee and snapping the weakened metal, exposing the wiring beneath. He hurled the busted bot away and was about to turn to the next, when a loud, ugly SNAP sounded, and Raven sailed past him, eyes closed tight in pain.

* * *

She slammed to the ground, the breath whooshing out of her from the impact. She sat up, rubbing her forehead. Her shield had been unusually flimsy, just like the rest of her powers since the Tower fell. But at least it didn't _hurt _when a blade broke, or a tendril vanished into air. But the psychic backlash from her shields being broken hurt to holy hell.

"Raven!" Beast Boy ran over to her, kneeling next to her. Robin, Cyborg and Starfire formed a defensive line in front of them, an old strategy for just such an occasion. The closest ally would rush to the fallen one's aid while the other three held back the attack.

"You ok Rae?" Beast Boy asked, concerned.

She glared at him. "My name is Raven, not Rae. And I'm fine." He grumbled something, but helped her up anyways. She winced, the floor spinning beneath her.

"Raven, that queasy face is not the face I'd use to describe 'all right'"

She grimaced at his joke, but shook her head, trying to clear it. "You are so lucky we're in the watchtower right now, otherwise I'd-"

Beast Boy spun them around, picking her up off her feet, making her yelp in surprise. He put her back down, and the robot that had hurtled by slammed harmlessly into the wall. "Be saved by me? Yeah. Thought so." Beast Boy smiled smugly.

She pushed away from him, fuming slightly. _Stupid Beast Boy._ Anger's influence swept into her, and she growled. "Wipe that smug look off your face before I wipe it off for you." She grumbled in her null tone.

Beast Boy looked a bit, hurt, but the look was gone so fast it left her wondering if she had imagined it. He morphed into a T-Rex, roaring at the robots, snagging three in his mouth and hurling them up into the air. As they fell, he twisted, and morphed into an Ankylosaurus, a dinosaur with a thick bone club at the end of it's tail. He slammed them on the way down with said club, sending them skittering off in shambles.

Raven grimly acknowledged to herself that he was a good fighter. Inside of her, Bravery cracked her knuckles. _Boy, what I wouldn't give to fight Beast Boy._ Shut up, Raven told her. She closed her eyes and focused. "Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos!" A sworl of dark energy spiraled out of the ground in front of the titans, forming a wave of spikes that she sent into the crowd of robots. Most were speared by these spikes. However, a few that had managed to escape the tide looked up at her. If robots could be angry they were damn close.

* * *

Starfire fired her eyebeams, melting through a robot like -what was it humans said?- A knife through the butter. It fell in two slightly molten halves, and she threw starbolts into another, one catching it in the shoulder, one in the thigh, and one dead center in the middle of it's electronic eye. The robot shuddered and fell. A robot leapt over it, slamming her back and grappling with her. "X'Hal!" She exclaimed. The robot was stronger than she'd anticipated. It started to force her back, until she really tried, and lifted the robot off it's feet. With a light growl she hurled it into the air and fired a flurry of starbolts at it, turning it to ashes within moments. "And that is what you get for misunderstanding me!"

Beast Boy 'surfed' by on a metal plate shaped roughly like a sled, a grin on his face. "You mean underestimated, Star."

"Is that not what I said?" She slagged another robot, using her eyebeams to melt a hole clean through it.

"No, you said-" Beast Boy morphed into a rhino and impaled a robot on his horn, hurling it into the air and changing back to normal. "- 'misunderestanding'. Two completely different things."

She opened her mouth in a slight 'o' as she punched the robot brains out of another robot. "I see. Thank you, friend Beast Boy."

"Don't mention it, Star. Oh, meanie at three o'clock." She whorled around, snapping her leg out with a 'Ha!' as she kicked one of the few remaining robots aside.

* * *

Cyborg rammed his metal fist through a robot's sternum with a snarl, sinking up to his shoulder into the bot. On the other side, he uncapped his Sonic Cannon, blasting through two more, using the slagged shell of the robot he was in front of as a shield. The robots dropped, and he pulled the robot off his arm and dropped it, clapping his hands together to rid them of nonexistant dust. "Well, looks like I've still got it." A pillar of metal exploded out of the floor at his feet, catching him in the gut and firing him into the air like a spring. "Whoooo-aaaah!"

* * *

He landed squarely on Starfire, who made an 'eep!' noise. Robin growled. "That's not fair!" He cried at the monitors, right before a gas plume erupted at his feet, and he felt dizzy. He saw Raven get spun mercilessly around in circles by a spinning plate on the floor, making her so dizzy she passed out, saw a rubber-like substance get sprayed over Beast Boy by a nozzle on the wall, ("aww, DUDE! Why is it always SLIME!?") and saw Starfire struggling slightly to lift an unconscious Cyborg's weight. His vision dimmed. "Dammit… not fair…"

* * *

When Robin awoke, he was in his temporary cabin. He snarled, sitting up and slamming his fist into the wall. "Dammit!!" He cried, fists clenching on the sheets uselessly. Batman _cheated, _just like he always had. When victory was in sight for anyone other than himself, he changed the game. It was like flipping a board of checkers before you lost. He growled angrily to himself and tromped down to the observation deck. He walked in just in time to join in on Batman chewing out the rest of his team.

"Furthermore, you were sloppy, took needless risks, and proved unable to adapt to new situations." Raven looked furious. Starfire looked like she was on the verge of tears. Cyborg had the look of false attentiveness that Robin knew all too well- it meant he had turned off his audio receptors to tune out the lecture. Beast Boy looked as if none of this was new to him, in fact he almost looked nostalgic.

"Well, what have you got to say for yourselves?" Batman said, eyes narrowing slightly.

Starfire burst into tears. "I-I am sorry to have f-failed you, Man of Bats!" She squeaked out between tears. "I will t-try not to l-let you down again." She sobbed, flying past a very bewildered Batman towards her cabin.

Cyborg blinked a bit. "I understand. You've made a valid point. I'll reconsider this for next time." A semi- automated response from the semi- automoton, Robin noted with satisfaction.

Batman glared at him as if trying to figure out his angle, then moved aside to let him pass.

Raven glared at Batman. Batman glared at Raven. Raven glared at Batman harder. Batman narrowed his eyes more. "I'm letting you go because you have murder eyes." He stepped aside, letting a very prim looking Raven to adjourn to her quarters.

Batman turned to Robin. A moment of tension. "Robin, you did well. Remember to tighten up your hold on your bo staff when striking a larger opponent." Robin kept his face carefully neutral, though inside he swelled with pride. That was as close to a 'good job, son' as anyone would ever get from Batman. He walked out of the room, but listened at the doorway.

Now, for the moment of truth, Robin thought. Beast Boy would make some snappy remark that would get him in trouble and-

"You sound like my father." He mumbled quietly. This response evidently surprised Batman as much as it surprised Robin. "Do you mean your birth father, or Mento?" Batman asked, trying to give Beast Boy the death glare. Beast Boy wouldn't meet his eyes, however, and just rubbed the back of his gloves slightly. "Whenever we got back from a mission, success or not, we always got chewed out by Mento. 'We lacked cohesiveness. Your attacks weren't precise enough, Robot Man tighten up your defense, Negative Man keep your body protected better.'" He said in a mocking tone. "Beast Boy, until you learn to blah, blah, blahdy blah blah blah." He flapped his hand like a mouth. "Been there, done that Bats. Same old frickin' story. See ya later Robin." He walked right past Batman, out a different door.

Robin blinked in surprise. How had Beast Boy known he was there? Then he remembered the shape changer's enhanced senses of smell and hearing. _That was unusual for Beast Boy._ Robin worried for his teammate. But foremost because Batman was standing in the exact same place he had been three minutes ago. Robin wondered if Beast Boy could feel the death tide rolling off of Batman. He sure could. Only one person had _ever_ dared to talk to Batman like that. And it wasn't Robin, that was for sure.

* * *

(A/N: Well folks, hope you enjoyed the latest installment of Teen Titans: The Big Leagues! Next chapter will see the Justice League together as a whole, and the departure from the satellite back to earth. Stay tuned everyone, its gonna be a bumpy ride!!)


	4. Chapter 4: Revelations

(A/N: Chapter Three left me making Batman look vaguely Dr. Coxish… I like it. Those of you who don't watch Scrubs I recommend you start. It's AWESOME! Anyways, last chapter we got a taste of the Titan's fighting power, while Batman tested them as the other Leaguers were off getting Superman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman. Well, they have returned!)

* * *

"Bruce? Give you kids a _lecture?_ Not possible." Flash said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Are we talking about the same person here, kid?"

Robin rolled his eyes behind his mask. Beast Boy snickered. Raven raised an eyebrow and gave a small smirk, while Starfire nodded, not grasping the joke.

"Most certainly, friend Flash."

Flash waved his hand. "Call me Barry, 'k Starfire?"

He looked back at Robin. "So what, you're tattling on him?"

Robin's eyes widened. "N-no, I'm just-" He was cut off by Cyborg and Beast Boy, who both burst out laughing. Robin's blood boiled as Cyborg slapped his shoulder playfully.

"Hahaha! Score one for the B-man!"

Flash raised an eyebrow. "The 'B' man?" Cyborg rubbed his head a bit, still laughing. "Sorry, just fit."

Flash shrugged. "No need to apologize. I like it." He hopped off the couch and zoomed out of the room, returning with a sandwich that was at least as long as his shin. "So, how's Wally?" This got five blank looks. "Um… Kid Flash?"

Four sets of 'ooooh' sounded, and Raven shrugged. "Well, I suppose that should have been obvious."

Flash chuckled a bit, then began decimating his sandwich, while an awed group of titans watched.

"Dude, not even Cy can eat that much that fast…" Beast Boy said, open mouthed.

Flash polished off the last of his sandwich and burped. Cyborg shook himself out of his stupor. "Eating contest?" He said, glaring at Flash.

Flash glared back good naturedly, smirking. "Eating contest." They zipped off to the kitchen, grinning.

Robin blinked. Beast Boy held back a snicker. Robin was about to get up to go mope, when a new face entered the room. "Well, so here are the kids I've heard so much about."

* * *

Wonder Woman eyed the Titans as if sizing them up for a battle. Beast Boy could feel sweat beading on his brow. "Heh… so um… what's crackin'?" He said weakly.

Raven slapped him in the back of the head. "Be polite." She said. Beast Boy stuck his tongue out at her.

Starfire smiled. "Greetings and salutations, new friend! I am Starfire! What is your name?" She asked, walking forward.

Wonder Woman smiled good naturedly. "My name is Diana, it's nice to meet you Starfire." She shook Starfire's hand, though the action confused Starfire.

"Starfire, handshakes are greetings, remember?" Robin said, not looking up from the pad of paper he was now scribbling on.

Raven tried to look over his shoulder. "What are you doing?"

He turned away. "None of your buisness." He evaded her attempts to look, then rolled off the couch. "I'm going to my cabin." He grumbled. Wonder Woman, Beast boy, and Starfire watched him leave. "Robin, wait for me!" Starfire followed him out of the room.

Raven shrugged. "Oh well." She stood up. "My name's Raven." She said, walking up to Diana and taking her hand. "Nice to meet you, Diana. This-" She indicated Beast Boy, who was yawning widely, much like a cat. "-is the lowest level of intelligence. Lowest level of intelligence, say 'hi' to Diana."

Beast Boy gave Raven a blank stare. "Muh? Hey!" Raven smirked.

Wonder Woman raised an eyebrow. "I've heard a lot about you both. Beast Boy, it takes a lot of guts to say anything to Bruce other than 'yes sir' or 'I understand'. Just to let you know, you've earned the respect of everyone in the tower."

Raven smirked a bit. "Little late, if you ask me." In her head, Timid whimpered. _"If you keep insulting him like that he won't like you anymore!" _She told Timid to calm down, but noticed the half-serious glare Beast Boy gave her.

"What?" She made a face.

"You know damn well 'what'." Beast Boy said, raising an eyebrow. "You've been all insultey and moody since the tower fell."

Raven narrowed her eyes at Beast Boy, but heard the ring of truth behind his ill-phrased words. She _had _been ragging on Beast Boy more than usual, and avoiding him more. Why was she trying to push him away? She knew the answer, of course, but she didn't want to admit it, even to herself.

"Just shoosh." She grumbled a bit, remembering with some embarrassment that Wonder Woman was still standing there, watching their discussion with an amused expression on her face.

"It's like watching Wally and Jinx argue." She said with a slight smirk.

It took Raven and Beast Boy a second to register who she was talking about, then a hot red (Or in Beast Boy's case, an odd forest green color) blush spread over their cheeks. They looked away from each other.

"Uhm… I need to go and read… stuff." Raven said lamely, putting her hood up and floating out of the room to the league's huge library.

Beast Boy watched her go. He sighed a bit, half angry at himself, half at her.

Wonder Woman chuckled a bit, patting his shoulder. "Don't worry, kid. She'll come around." And then she left Beast Boy to his own devices, though Beast Boy was blushing furiously again.

* * *

Cyborg picked metal bits off of his leg, smiling a bit, thinking of all the upgrades he was going to put on his car once they got the Tower back up and running. He tightened a bolt on his arm. Then a knock came at his cabin door. "C'mon in, Robin." He called, not even looking up from his repair work.

Robin walked in, looking a bit flustered. Cyborg knew it unnerved him when he did that. Cyborg was able to hear the differences in his teammates knocks, detecting the minute differences in the sound patterns. Robin's knock was always four raps, very authoritative and hard though not too hard. Starfire slammed on the door with the side of her hand (Not on purpose, she just didn't know any better.) Raven's knock was very polite and soft. Beast Boy's knock was sporadic; it was never the same, and that was how he knew.

Robin sat down in a chair by the door. "Cyborg, I wanted to talk to you."

That got his attention. He looked up from retooling his sonic cannon. "What's up, Rob?"

His eyes narrowed. "Something doesn't smell right here. Think about it. The tower fell and, immediately after, the JLA were here to pick us up."

Cyborg nodded. "You think that Batman had the tower bugged."

"How did you-?" Cyborg laughed at Robin's bewildered face.

"Rob, I may like to have fun, and act a bit thick, and have… urp… really big eating contests…" He belched loudly. Flash had beaten him by consuming nearly all the fridge's contents after Cyborg had barely finished his quadruple-decker-roast-beef- sandwich.

Robin rolled his eyes. "Get to the point."

Cyborg waved a hand. "I'm getting there. Anyways, my point is, that I still have a supercomputer for a brain. I've already come to the conclusion that Batman probably DID have our tower bugged. So you can relax, now."

Robin growled. "How?! We've just found out that they've been_ watching our every move!!_" Robin was yelling now, and Cyborg was glad for the soundproof cabin.

"Robin, what would Batman say if he saw you so ang-"

Robin cut him off. "That's JUST IT!! I DON'T care what Batman thinks!!" He roared, knocking a can of soda off of Cyborg's work bench. The strain of the past couple of days seemed finally to be getting to him.

"Everyone thinks that we're SO alike, but we're NOT!! I AM NOTHING LIKE HIM!" Robin screamed at him, and Cyborg blinked.

"You're right. Batman wouldn't explode like this." That got Robin to calm down. As much as he didn't want to admit it Robin still envied Batman, still wanted Batman to be the father figure that Robin had always seen him as.

Cyborg blinked calmly at him. Robin seemed defeated. "I'll just… be going." He said quietly, standing and leaving the room.

* * *

Starfire floated down the hall, looking for Robin. They had been getting less and less time together since Tokyo, whether because of emergencies or just plain not having any time. She was determined to get at least a little time alone with her boyfriend now.

She spotted Robin wandering down the hall towards her. He looked a bit upset, and she frowned. "Robin, what is the mattering?"

He looked up at her. "Matter, Star. Nothing's wrong, just thinking."

Starfire smiled a bit, floating up to him and taking his hand, planting a light kiss on his cheek. "You forget, I know you better than that."

He gave her a full, bright smile, a smile Starfire knew that nobody but her ever got. "Sorry to worry you, Star. It's nothing."

She frowned, but nodded. "Ok Robin, I will stop pestering you about it."

He squeezed her hand gently, smiling again. "Thanks, Star." He led her down the hallway that she knew led to his room and smiled. Finally, they were going to get some alone time.

* * *

Raven sat in her cabin and meditated intently. "Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos. Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos… Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos…" She felt odd, more serene than usual while meditating. Almost as if she was floating away… "Azarath… Metrion… Zynthosss…" Her voice slurred, and she lost consciousness.

_Her eyes snapped open and she looked around, startled, at the landscape of Nevermore. She was sitting, Lotus position, in the very centre of the craggy landscape. She looked around, wide eyed. She'd NEVER gotten to Nevermore just by meditating. She stood, almost hesitantly, not wanting to find out it was a dream. _

"_Bout damn time you got here." Her voice growled. Raven whirled around to see Anger, Wisdom, Intelligent, and Timid all standing there. She walked over to them._

_Raven narrowed her eyes. "I didn't know I could get here, after I tried in my room."_

"_The night the tower fell." Intelligent clarified. _

_Raven rolled her eyes. "Yes." _

_Intelligent blinked from behind her spectacles. "And you're wondering why you weren't able to contact us." She pulled her russet brown cloak around herself a little tighter._

_Raven nodded. "That would be nice."_

_Anger snorted, crossing her arms. "A book as thick as Beast Boy's head fell on you dumbass, what did you expect?" _

_Raven gave her a harsh glare. "I'm sorry, was I interrupting your conversation?" _

_Anger smirked a bit. "And they said you'd never show me. I actually hate you a little less now, little miss gloom-and-doom." _

_Raven shook her head. "Whatever. So, was it the book?" _

"_Yes." Intelligent nodded a bit, and Timid whimpered. "I was worried that you'd never recover…" She was hiding behind Anger. Raven had noticed, in the time since Trigon's fall, Timid and Anger were together a lot- probably because fear and anger were two sides of the same coin. _

_Raven sighed. "So, are all the portals back up?" All four nodded. "Good. Wisdom, you've been kind of quiet, is there anything you want to add?" All four looked impressed that she'd noticed (Though Anger looked begrudging about it). _

_Wisdom smiled. "I would just like you to ask the question you came here for." _

_Raven frowned, confused. "What? I thought it was an accident." _

_Widsom smiled her knowing smile, which Raven thought would suit Intelligent better. "Raven, the sooner you realize this the better… there _are _no accidents." She smiled. _

_Raven frowned. "So then… why am I here?"_

_Wisdom's smile widened. "We aren't the ones you should be asking." _

_Intelligence blinked and waved. Anger shrugged, giving her a thumbs-up. Timid peeked scaredly out from behind Anger. And they all vanished back to their own portals._

"_Oh, _crap._" Raven looked up at Affection's portal, which they had been standing in front of the whole time. "Man, I am really gonna regret this." Raven sighed, and stepped into the portal._

_

* * *

  
_

Swipe. Dive. Lunge. Jab. Repeat. Beast Boy rolled aside as the sparring droid threw a mean right hook. This droid was specifically designed to spar with someone, not mindlessly rampage towards you. It was thinner, more humanoid.

Beast Boy didn't like to admit it, but he was skilled at hand to hand fighting from his training in the Doom Patrol. Mento was a hard taskmaster, and when he'd taught Beast Boy all he knew (Less than one would think, although Mento's powers weren't exactly in his strength), he'd called in a few experts who had deemed Beast boy 'unteachable' one after another.

Mento had eventually come to the conclusion that Beast Boy was being taught the wrong way, trying to teach him 'human kung fu'. Beast Boy gritted his teeth and swept the droids legs out from under it. 'Human' kung-fu. Like he wasn't human.

He sighed, walking over to the room settings and scrolled through them until he found the Training Droid's difficulty setting. In the past year since Tokyo and the Brotherhood of Evil, he'd honed his skills.

"I'm still human." He mumbled to himself. "Even if I don't look it." He cranked it up, from five to eight. He turned and got into a fighting stance. The droid leapt at him, more ferocious than before. He dodged a right hook and found a knee waiting for him.

He caught the blow on his shoulder, curling into it like an armadillo to avoid being winded by the attack. He rolled back and sprang off his hands, kangaroo-kicking the droid in the chest with both legs, knocking it a few feet back.

He landed and brought his arms up in front of his face in a twin swiping motion to knock the robot's fist away and up, then pushing off from his crouched position and sweeping his arms outwards, like a marlin's fins cutting through the water, knocking the robot back still more.

It went on like this for minutes more, the droid landing more blows on him. His fighting style WAS very animalistic, he reflected, than most people's might be, more brutish and ferocious, but at the same time serene at times and graceful.

_Erratic and wild._ He thought with a grim smile, catching the robot's kick between his arms, snapping them down on it's leg like a gator snapping down on it's prey. He secured a firmer hold on it's leg, moving back, and bent it's leg inwards, moving _with _the joint. He growled, lifting it over his shoulder, and swinging it outwards, hurling it to the ground with a grunt.

Having the ability to turn into an animal put the world in perspective for Beast Boy. Where once, he'd found nature harsh and unforgiving, he now found it to be one's greatest ally. If you learned to sway with the wind, swim with the current, and sit as still as a stone while being as flexible as a tree you could overcome any obstacle.

Well, most any obstacle.

The droid wrenched him violently out of his thoughts as it wrapped it's arms around him in a tight headlock. "Dammit!" He cried, struggling as it lifted him off the ground, full-nelson tightly in place. "No fair! I was thinking!"

He heard a light hearted chuckle fill the room. "You don't get breaks to think in real life, Beast Boy. And you can't turn down the difficulty setting in real life, either." He looked over furiously and saw Superman- THE Superman- standing at the controls to the room, an amused but light smile on his face. "Superman?!" He said, slack-jawed. The kryptonian chuckled again, turning off the droid. It released him, and walked back to it's little cubbyhole in the wall, a panel sliding shut over it. "When I heard the droid from downstairs, I thought Wonder Woman might be getting in a little extra fight training after our long absence."

Beast Boy grinned a bit. "No sir, just me."

Superman chuckled. "I'm not old enough to be called 'Sir', Beast Boy. Or, can I call you Garfield?"

Though he knew it was a question born of not knowing him well enough, Beast Boy bristled at the use of his real name. Only eight people had ever called him 'Garfield'. And he wanted to keep it that way. _Maybe _the other titans could call him 'Garfield'.

"Uh, no Superman, please call me Beast Boy." He forced himself to be polite, remembering how Raven had warned him about it earlier. It probably wasn't very wise to insult a man who could leap tall buildings in a single bound, move faster than a speeding bullet, and was more powerful than a locomotive.

Superman just chuckled though. "Don't like your real name either, then. I understand. My mom named me 'Clark'."

Beast Boy laughed. He had never pegged Superman as the funny type, but he was. He was genuinely lighthearted, like Flash and Green Lantern. It payed to have a few jokesters on the team, he reasoned.

Superman looked at him curiously. "Eight is a pretty high setting to be fighting without using your powers, Beast Boy."

Beast Boy looked at the ceiling, rubbing the back of his head. "Haha, yeah, funny story about that… Mento was always pushing me to be better."

Superman nodded. "You know, most people would admire that in a father figure, let alone a leader."

Beast Boy sighed. "Sometimes I just wished he'd be more the 'father figure' than the 'leader', but Mento was always too bent on winning for his own good." Wait, what? Why was he telling Superman this? Beast Boy chalked it up to his personable attitude and sighed.

"So Superman, have you met Robin at all before?"

Superman laughed loudly. "Oh yeah, I've met Dick before, though not without Bruce next to him."

Beast Boy snorted. "Dick? Robin's name is Dick? That's oddly fitting."

Superman gave a quieter chuckle at this. "He's tried very hard to shake off Batman's influence. How's he doing?"

"I'm doing fine, Clark. And it's nice to see you too."

* * *

Robin strode, looking none too happy, into the room. "Beast Boy, if you call me anything other than Robin I'll shove one of your gloves down your throat." He grumbled.

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow. "Yessir, Robin."

He tapped in a few controls to the droid. "Do you guys mind? I'd like to spar."

Suddenly, a sly grin spread over Superman's face. "Hey, I've got an idea. Why don't you guys fight each other?"

Beast Boy gave Superman a blank look. "Saywhat?" he said faintly.

Robin looked at Beast Boy. "Yeah… that's a good idea actually…"

Beast Boy held up his hands. "Who there, whoa. I couldn't even beat the train-mo-bot on level eight, what makes you think I'd last more than ten seconds against Robin?"

Superman chuckled. "I think you'd be surprised what you can do with a little faith in yourself, Beast Boy. Consider it a favor to me, just spar with him, ok? I'll catch you guys later." He smiled, waved, and left the room.

Beast Boy watched him go. "He's a lot more…"

Robin smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Easygoing?"

Beast Boy nodded. "Yeah, easygoing... than I thought he'd be."

Robin shrugged, taking off his belt and cape. "He's like that now. But he is seriously scary in a fight."

Beast Boy chuckled. "Hey, you'd piss your pants too if you had to fight a guy who can dropkick a meteor and come out ok."

Robin raised an eyebrow. Then he did the thing that Beast Boy expected least. He snickered a bit, tightening his gloves. "Heh, guess you're right."

Beast Boy smirked a bit, taking up a lower crouching stance as Robin walked opposite him. "Crouching Tiger style, Beast Boy? I must say I'm impressed."

Beast Boy shrugged. "It fits though, right?"

"Yeah."

"Mm hmm."

They stood there for a moment, in slightly awkward silence. Beast Boy had never really gotten along too well with Robin, not since the incident with the Beast. He got the feeling that Robin didn't really trust him, and since the Brotherhood of Evil incident and Beast Boy usurping control for the short while he had it, he felt like he had scared Robin. And that wasn't something he wanted to do.

* * *

Robin flexed his arms and legs, loosening himself up. Beast Boy hadn't yet, and it didn't look like he was going to. Robin smirked to himself. _Big mistake._

Bruce had always told him that a cramp or a pulled muscle in the middle of a fight could mean the end of the line. But Beast boy wasn't just staying crouched… he was staying _perfectly _still. Like a tiger stalking his prey.

Robin took up his usual fighting stance- a hybrid stance that would give him the upper hand of being able to fluidly switch between fighting styles. It made him unpredictable. It made him deadly.

Robin feinted in and pulled a lightning-fast sweep kick. Beast Boy didn't have enough time to dodge before he was knocked flat on his back. Robin backed off a bit. Beast Boy said nothing, just rolled to his feet and got back into position.

Robin narrowed his eyes. What was going on here? He slipped closer to Beast Boy, but Beast Boy saw his move coming with surprising ease. Robin barely brought his arm up in time to block the snap kick Beast Boy delivered. Robin was surprised by Beast Boy's powerful strike, which pushed him back a bit. He grabbed Beast Boy's ankle and pulled him forwards, but Beast Boy brought his other leg up and twisted, delivering a hard one-legged donkey kick to his chest that launched him backwards.

The breath whooshed out of him, and he stumbled back, wincing. "Nice kick."

"Thanks."

"I hope that's not all you've got up your sleeve."

* * *

"Dude, you have no idea." Beast Boy leapt forwards with a vicious swipe of his forward hand, springing off his back foot, twisting in the air and swinging his fist at Robin.

Robin caught the blow on his forearm, but Beast Boy twisted in midair, springing off his other foot to give him enough momentum. He spun, grabbing Robin's wrist and wrenching his arm down, and swinging his left knee in.

Robin growled as his arm bent but brought his other arm down and slammed an open-handed palm into his knee, twisted his palm inward in an old chi-strike technique the Master had taught him. As Beast Boy yelped in pain and his knee went slack Robin grabbed his shin and lifted him upwards.

He swung him around by the shin and the forearm and hurled him into the air, then grabbed him by the belt and swung him into the ground.

Beast Boy's leg hit the ground and twisted, and he growled. Robin swung him back and hurled him away. Beast Boy landed on his knees and rolled to his feet. They locked eyes for a moment, and then launched back into combat.

* * *

The minutes wore on, and the heated battle continued. Beast Boy and Robin seemed to be at an empasse, both tired, out of breath, and panting heavily. Beast Boy's entire left arm felt like it was about to fall off, and his knee was still shaky from where Robin had done his weird little chi- thingy.

"Dude, Robin, take a chill pill, we're not playin' for keeps here." Beast Boy panted, holding his shoulder.

Robin only glared at him, which Beast Boy found odd. "Dude, aren't you even going to talk to me?" Beast Boy said, straightening up.

No reply. Robin just glared at him, panting heavily. "Fine! Well, I'm leaving then, if you can't even talk to me." He turned to leave, when he heard a hiss of air from behind him. He just barely ducked under Robin's roundhouse kick.

"_Never_ turn your back on a conscious opponent!"

(A/N: Ohoho, has Robin finally broken under the pressure of the last few weeks? I for one, think it goes deeper than that. But, I guess we'll find out next chapter, won't we? Wow, looking back up at it, this chapter is REALLY freakin' long! Four hundred-almost five hundred-odd words, eight pages on Word. I didn't intend for this chapter to be so long, but the fight scenes get really, REALLY wordy and I've been trying to space my paragraphs out more. Well, stay tuned folks, it's gonna be one helluva ride!)


	5. Chapter 5: The Line

(A/N: I know I left you all at a major cliffhanger, so I'll get you right to it. Enjoy!)

Beast Boy ducked under his leader's vicious left high kick and rolled back. "DUDE! What the HELL!!" He cried, but then was knocked flat as a punch collided with his midsection. He choked a bit, winded badly.

He staggered back a bit. He coughed hard and barely had time to catch Robin's punch. With an angry growl he swung Robin around and hurled him across the room. Robin rolled lithely to his feet, looking furious. "I am sick and tired of YOU and your ATTITUDE!" Robin snarled, sprinting at Beast Boy.

"My attitude!? What the-" His head jerked back as Robin's foot connected with his jaw, sending him reeling back. Robin wore steel-toed and heeled- boots for a reason. He staggered backwards and was sent flying back by a furious open-handed double palm strike.

He slammed hard into the wall. His anger flared harshly, and he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. Pain from a wound not yet completely healed seeped into his thoughts. "Robin, what the hell is the matter with you!?" He snarled, trying to keep his anger in check.

It didn't come up much but he did have a serious temper, and though it didn't flare up much it was a bitch to deal with when it did… as Robin well knew. So was he trying to make him angry?

"I am sick of the mistrust, and the stupid childishness!" Robin growled, cracking his knuckles. "You can't trust me? Fine. But be mature about it!"

Beast Boy's fury rose again. "ME!?" He roared, slamming a fist to the wall hard enough to crack it slightly. "ME not trust YOU!? Ever since The Beast you haven't trusted me enough to watch the Tower when there's a minor criminal around! Or maybe you're just afraid I'm too much like Terra for my own good."

When Robin just stood there glaring mutely at him, the truth dawned on Beast Boy. "You do… you think I'm going to betray the team…" He whispered hoarsely, all the fury drained out of him. "Is that why?" Robin sprinted at him, teeth gritted in a snarl.

"And I intend to beat it out of you before you get the chance!"

* * *

Raven meditated quietly, eyes closed. "Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos. Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos." An aggravated humming sound started in her head. Beast Boy, probably. She closed her eyes and focused harder, but the humming sound got louder and more aggravated. Soon enough it was a loud, furious roar.

"Will whoever is making that noise PLEASE SHUT-" Her angry calls were silenced as Angry's voice broke through. _Shh. Listen._ The emotion's unusually calm utterance unnerved Raven enough to get her to be quiet.

That roaring sound isn't audible…?" She murmured confusedly. Something- someone- was _pissed. _"Robin and… Beast Boy?" She raised an eyebrow, pulled her hood over her head, and floated out of her room towards the source of this all-consuming fury.

She ran into Cyborg on her way down the halls.

"You heard it too?" Cyborg asked. He was cocking his mechanial ear towards the source of the anger.

"Heard what?" She said, focusing her eyes down the hall towards the source.

"The fighting? Robin and Beast Boy are goin' at it." Raven's eyes narrowed. "We need to hurry." She and Cyborg sped up and put some urgency into their step.

* * *

Robin swept his flimsy defenses aside mercilessly. "You are ARROGANT, SIMPLE-MINDED, and above ALL, you broadcast your emotions like a lantern!" Robin didn't give Beast Boy time to respond. He kicked him in the chest and sent him tumbling to the ground.

"I don't CARE if you've trained with the Doom Patrol, you are still an IDIOT!" Robin screamed. He felt all the pressure, stress, tension of the past couple of days boiling out through his skin. What was worse, Beast Boy's face had grown calm as he had started yelling at him, lecturing him.

It only made Robin angrier. He couldn't provoke the younger teammate to a response. It reminded him of sparring with Batman, when he had been more carefree. No matter how much he taunted, he couldn't get his mentor to respond. _I suppose fighting the Joker will do that to you._

Robin growled in fury, springing off his forward foot and swinging his leg hard at Beast Boy. His forearm caught the blow, but a loud 'CRACK' sounded and he winced lightly.

"SAY SOMETHING!!" Robin screamed, spinning back the other way and punching Beast Boy in the chest. The breath whooshed out of his teammate, and Robin didn't give him any time to reply.

He punched him again, and again, and again. Not fast quick jabs, but slow, full power slug-punches that made the air vibrate when they contacted. "ANSWER ME!!" He screamed hoarsely.

Beast Boy stared glassy-eyed at him, face still hard and mute.

Where had he seen that look before?

_Where?_

Of course. When they were fighting Terra. It was the same hard, dull stare that his friend- no, his enemy- had taken the first time they had fought her.

"You loved her so much, I bet you wish you could be with her right now." Robin hissed with some satisfaction. If this didn't get him, nothing would.

"It's why you were so reluctant to admit she was a villain, that she was gone after."

His teammate's face became a darker green color. Fury flickered in his eyes.

"Shut up."

"Because she was always too good for you, and when she turned evil she proved it. You think I'M a sourpuss." Robin sneered. He didn't know what he was doing but it was making him feel better about the last few years- Trigon, The Brotherhood, not being able to lead his team.

"Shut the fuck up!" Beast Boy hissed, shaking now as he blocked Robin's frenzied attacks.

"And then with the Doom Patrol- How does it feel to NEVER get acknowledgement from your 'father'? Oooh, Beast Boy and his mysterious past, never wants to talk about it, well at least Batman rewarded me on a job well done!"

"Shut UP!" He snarled. A feral snarl- enough to make Robin freeze for a second, and take a hard hook to the jaw. He sailed back across the room, startled. He rolled to his feet, rubbing his jawline. "Yeah, not so easy when you're on the other side of the taunts, is it?" He hissed.

"Try living under all the pressure of being the leader of the team, dealing with all the villains, having to keep an eye out for Slade AND look for a cure for the traitor, who is NEVER coming back, by the way, and above all, dealing with you, you pathetic, pampered, good-for-nothing, weakling!"

"ENOUGH!" Beast Boy screamed, transforming into a Sasquatch, and grabbing Robin by the shin. He swung Robin into the ceiling, and Robin's sight dimmed. The room shook as he swung him through the sparring equipment, shattering wood and breaking robots, and slammed him into the floor, then into the wall.

Robin's breath whooshed out of him and Beast Boy hurled him across the room. If his suit wasn't laced with kevlar and bulletproof titanium fiber weave, he would be dead. He could still feel that he had at least three broken ribs. And a dislocated shoulder.

But what really worried him- more than his own injuries- was that he'd seen The Beast flicker through his teammate's form before it resolved itself into a sasquatch.

And that scared him. Badly. Robin had gone over the line, and not even the Brotherhood of Evil had been able to bring the Beast out in Beast Boy, though probably not for lack of trying. Robin grunted with pain, getting to his feet. "Ok, look Beast Boy, I didn't-" Too late. A huge hairy fist connected with his chest, aggravating his ribs and sending him flying across the room.

"TOO FAR!" The sasquatch roared, and Robin's eyes widened in surprise. He'd assumed that Beast Boy couldn't talk in his animal forms, as he never had. Except for a parrot.

But a throaty bass roar of words from a Sasquatch got his attention, all right, and he had barely enough time to roll out of the way of Beast Boy's fist. Robin leapt back.

"Beast Boy, calm down! Look, I'm sorry!" Beast Boy growled at him for a moment, murder in his eyes. Then, a black band of energy appeared around him.

Beast Boy looked down in surprise, and a sonic blast caught him in the chest, throwing him into the wall. He groaned, reverting back. The band stayed locked tight around him, though.

Robin looked to the door to see Cy and Raven, both ready for a battle. "Guys, wait! Let him go."

Cyborg didn't take his eyes- or his gun- off Beast Boy for a second. "Hell no! He's goin' psycho again then we'll keep him there 'till we can figure-"

Robin cut him off. "Cyborg, it's my fault." Regret was forming a solid band on his heart so realistic it could be Raven herself.

"Preposterous Robin, not everything is your fault." Raven intoned, hands staying up and pointed at Beast Boy.

"No, I mean… It really is." Robin felt ashamed now. "I… provoked him, more than I probably should have." He looked at the ground.

"We were sparring and things got out of hand… I've just been so stressed." He ran his hands through his hair, sighing heavily.

Beast Boy was silent, glaring at the floor with steely eyes.

"Robin…" Raven sounded concerned. "Whos anger was it that I was able to feel in my cabin?"

Robin sighed a bit. "…Beast Boy's."

Raven's face paled more, if it were possible, and she stole a glance at the animal man while he was looking at the floor. Robin knew exactly how she felt. The green guy could be damn scary…

* * *

Beast Boy slammed the door to his cabin. He was still furious at Robin, but he'd brought it down to the I'm-not-talking-to-you-but-I'm-not-going-to-kill-you-maybe level. Robin knew it was his fault, explained it to the others.

But he was still furious. Robin had crossed a line, knew he was crossing it, laughed while he did. Beast Boy sighed explosively.

He plopped down on his bed, pulling out his iPod from his stuff. He had an iPod Nano, not the new ones with the camera, but still a Nano.

He examined it. It was dark greyish-black, and the clicker was a deeper black color. It was none too new, seeing as he'd had it since Raven had given it to him the christmas before.

He unlocked the iPod with the small button at the top and thumbed through his songs. He had a lot of old rock and alternative, lots of metal, and a good amount of hard rock. For such a carefree guy, one thought he would have slightly more upbeat music.

But something about someone wailing away on a gibsun just made his heart race. He put his earphones in, spun his thumb on the clicker to turn up the volume, and shook the iPod, shuffling the songs. He smirked a bit.

Incubus's song A Certain Shade Of Green had come on. He seriously loved Incubus, they were one of his favorite groups. He had all of their albums- even Fungus Amongus, their first 'album' that they had recorded in college.

He had A Crow Left Of The Murder, their third album, on CD and he'd had his iPod, and his disk, signed by the band at their Malaysia tour in 2004.

He sighed, bobbing his head sharply to the jerky, fast music. Whenever he felt like screaming, ripping something apart, punching a wall, he listened to his music. Cy, the only titan who knew about his odd taste in music, usually joked about the fact that such 'face-melting' music could calm a guy down.

But the truth was, it did calm him down. It helped him think more clearly when he was angry. So, he closed his eyes and lay back on his bed, listening to Incubus, Ozzy Ozbourne, Metallica, Megadeth, Dragonforce… the list went on.

So, he mused. Stay angry at Robin? Check. Act like the rest never happened? Check. Forgive him eventually? Check, maybe. Maybe. Big fat maybe.

If Robin couldn't forgive him for things that were (Mostly) out of his control and trust him, why should Beast Boy trust and forgive him for things that were (Mostly) his fault and in his control?

He sighed absently, the gritty, racing, face-melting music blaring in his ears. He relaxed completely, and let his mind blur.

* * *

"So basically," Raven said, fingertips pressed together. "You've… _volunteered_ us… for a teen hero training program?" Raven narrowed her eyes in confusion, looking at the JLA. "Shouldn't Beast Boy be here for this too?"

Superman nodded. "That is a good point, actually. Flash, could you go-"

"On it." Before Superman even had time to finish his sentence the fastest man alive was there and back, plopping a very confused and sleepy looking Beast Boy on the couch, music blaring so loud that she could hear it on the other end.

_Such violent music. Sounds like… my music. _Raven raised an eyebrow. "Beast Boy, turn your iPod off." He looked at her blearily. He must have passed out.

"Whuh?" He shouted. "I can't hear you!" Starfire, Robin, and Cyborg jammed their fingers in their ears, and Raven looked at Beast Boy, a bit frazzled, and made a pulling motion by her ears, indicating his earphones.

"OH!" He roared, and this time even Batman cringed back. "SORRY." He pulled his earphones out and turned his iPod off.

"You know, you'll ruin your ears like that, kid." Hal pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"Says the pilot of military airplanes." Aquaman said, running the edge of his finger down the hook that replaced his hand. Wonder Woman laughed, Flash snickered a bit, and Batman gave a smirk.

Beast Boy shrugged. "Well not my ears, dude."

"Anyways." Batman said, annoyance creeping into his voice. "We've set it up so that each of you will have your own personal trainer once you get to your destination."

"Destination." Beast Boy said confusedly. "Where are we going exactly?"

Batman smiled. "You're just going to have to wait and see, huh?"

* * *

"Why not now, lord Chronos?" A child's voice rang out in the room, of maybe a thirteen year old, but rich with violent thoughts and power. "We should attack them now, while they are still recovering."

"I've already told you, Brother, we can't attack them while they are in the JLA's watch. That would be suicide." Chronos's melodious voice rang out in the room.

Now, two members of the mysterious group were absent. The green-skinned goblin man Tengu, and the scientist Nano- two of the more vocal members of the group- had gone to run an important errand for Chronos.

"Myes, I suppose it would be a bad idea to just attack them while they were in the Watchtower." The shadow named Brother mused, tapping his pubescent chin with a long, spindly index finger.

"So then, what? We attack them while they are headed to their destination?" Ravager growled, his one visible eye narrowing.

"Very astute Ravager, looks like you have a bit of your brother's blood in you after all." Chronos murmured, tracing his finger along a map.

A long combat knife thunked violently into the table in front of the titan lord of time. "Don't you EVER." Ravager growled. "Compare me to my brother. Unless you want to sleep in a coffin for the rest of your life."

Chronos held his hands up with an amused smile. "All right, all right. I am sorry mister Wilson, I won't do so again. Now then, Brimstone, I believe you had something you needed to attend to…?"

The huge flaming man, who's flaming outline could be clearly seen, nodded. "Yes Lord." He turned and lumbered off into the dark. It left three shadowy figures around the clock-shaped device.

"You know the plan, gentlemen. Go and cause some mayhem." Chronos said.

"Yes Lord Chronos…" The teen said, grinning savagely as he moved into the light, putting his long, bony hands on the table.

His bloody red eyes reflected sickly in the light, and the skull he wore on his head like a crown leered at them, two dagger-like fangs hanging down in front of his face, small protrusions carved into the back. "It's time to spill some… Blood."

* * *

(A/N: Sorry for the long wait fellas, but I was SERIOUSLY sick, and could not even walk. So, here's the conclusion to the fight and the beginning of the next part of the story.)


	6. Chapter 6: Blood

(A/N: Now then, right into the thick of it! Thanks for the reviews all, I appreciate it (As always.) Blue, I appreciate the review. I try my damndest to expand the connections people see in a cartoon more to the comic context. And besides, why waste thought processing on thinking up a completely new villain when you can ste- uh, use- any of the many villains from the comics? Lol, have fun with this one guys!)

* * *

That night, it rained.

The Justice League had left them in Jump City, telling them that they needed to reach San Francisco and go to the island of Alcatraz in order to get their next set of instructions.

But it was pouring.

And Raven's top was NOT waterproof.

She pulled her cloak tighter around her, grimacing angrily at the sky. "Stupid rain." She grumbled.

"The rain is refreshing, friend Raven. Rejoice at the rejuvination of the earth!" She said, spinning happily in the rain.

"I'd rejoice if I had some non-costume clothes." She grumbled. And, more under her breath, "…or a bra." Beast Boy blushed and so did she, after remembering that he had super-sensitive hearing.

"Uh, hey guys? If we're gonna be under-cover, let's get some civvies." Beast Boy said, looking at Robin.

"Please, what is the 'sivee' of which you speak?" Starfire asked.

"Civilian clothes." Robin replied. He nodded. "I agree Beast Boy, our costumes aren't suited for so much rain." He held up his sodden cape as evidence.

"Come on. There's a clothing department down the street, a couple blocks on the right. Shouldn't take us long to get there if we cut through these warehouses."

Raven raised an eyebrow.

* * *

"Anyone else getting a seriously wicked scary vibe here?" Beast Boy said, looking up at the looming building above them.

"If I have ever thought that the sentence 'take a shortcut through warehouses' was a GOOD idea, I hope that I get lit on fire." Raven grumbled, raising an eyebrow as she examined the warehouse. This was not a good idea.

They stepped inside, Raven walked in last, after Beast Boy.

She gasped and her eyesight flickered, stepping behind Beast Boy, something buzzing horribly in her mind.

"Rae, you ok?" Beast Boy mumbled a bit, his face flushing as she clutched at his shoulders.

Regaining her composure, she cleared her throat, flushing slightly herself. "Yeah, sorry. It's just… it's like somebody burned the word 'HIDE' on my brain in ten foot tall flaming letters."

Beast Boy snickered. "It's the Raven-sense. Spidey better watch his professionally drawn back!"

She growled at him. "Shut up, Beast Boy." And with that she followed the others into the dark of the warehouse.

Darkness enfolded them. There was no sound, save the occasional clank of chains and boxes, and the heavy footfalls of Robin and Cyborg's footsteps as they walked to the other end of the warehouse.

Outside Mother Nature was throwing a fit. Occasionally the rain would begin to hammer so fiercely on the roof it was like standing in the middle of a rockslide. Now, it began pounding relentlessly once more.

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Jeez, this weather is wild."

Cyborg nodded, and a faint blue light of a display screen appeared ahead of her. "Instruments tell me that it's gale force winds out there. Damn, man. This weather is nuts."

Beast Boy's head snapped up from next to her. "Did you guys hear that?" They stopped. Their footsteps echoed through the warehouse, for a little too long…

"Hear what, friend Beast Boy?" Starfire said.

Beast Boy narrowed his eyes, crouching a bit. "Someone's in here with us…"

Robin's eyes narrowed as well. He and Beast Boy, while still not talking, had come to a kind of agreement to try to trust each other more. The wind creaked and whispered around them, eerie laughter and hisses of fury seeming to make the warehouse come alive. The chains rattled louder, the boxes shaking and jumping as thunder, lightning, and rain pummeled the dark building.

The shadows swirled around them, and soon enough the clanking chains and rattling boxes were cackling horribly and screaming furiously in their ears, thunder pounding the air around them. Raven clutched at her ears, gritting her teeth, falling forwards a bit. Beast Boy caught her delicately. "Raven!"

Then, all at once, it stopped. Like someone had flicked a switch. The thunder and lightning calmed, and the chains and boxes stopped making noises.

The warehouse creaked and groaned under the rain's onslaught. But otherwise, silence enveloped them.

Robin stood up from his crouched position, whipping his head around. "Can you tell where-" There was a thump and a muffled yell from the darkness ahead, and Robin was gone from sight.

"Jesus Christ!" Cyborg yelled, firing his cannon into the darkness. A lithe, small form was illuminated for a moment, and then a larger shadow behind Cyborg slammed him into shadows.

Starfire took off after Robin, firing starbolts after the lean figure. "ROBIN!"

And then Raven and Beast Boy were alone.

* * *

Robin flipped the other off him, hurling him into the dark. A large shape batted him aside, and Robin looked up into a single, luminous, _horribly _familiar eye.

"Slade!" Robin hissed, fury burning inside him.

"Close, punk. But no cigar." The rough, throaty growl confused and disturbed Robin for enough time for something thin and sharp to carve a deep groove in his cheek. He swore loudly and flipped backwards, clapping his hand over the wound.

"You're thinkin' of my dearest brother, kid." The shape snarled. The light illuminated the other for a moment, and Robin's eyes widened.

It was slade. Or, rather, it looked exactly like slade, save that his suit was red and black instead of Slade's usual bronze-and-black. And the multitude of weapons strapped to him, of course.

"For the brief span of time you have left on this earth, you can call me Ravager."

* * *

Starfire flew hurriedly after Robin, worry clenching at her heart. "Robin! Robin, where are you!?"

A muffled thump echoed through the darkness, and Robin came flying into her. She let out a small 'eep!' and tumbled into the darkness, though keeping a firm grip on her boyfriend.

"Robin!" She gasped. He groaned a bit. She found his face with her hand, and something sticky and wet coated her fingers.

"You are bleeding!"

"It's just a flesh wound, Star. Help me up."

Obediently she helped him to his feet. "Robin, what is going on?"

"We've been attacked." He said flatly.

She blinked. "What is it you humans say? Well 'No duh!' How do we beat them!?"

Before Robin could answer her, however, Ravager exploded out of the darkness with a fiery snarl.

She fired her eyebeams at him and hit him, point blank, in the chest with both. He was propelled backwards along the path of the beam before slamming into a tower of boxes and crates, disappearing from view.

"Nice shot, Starfire." Robin said, squeezing her hand gently.

She smiled and blushed a bit. "Thank you, Robin." She squeezed his hand back gently. Something in the dark flashed, drawing her attention. The blade turned end over end slowly, flying towards her.

She only had time to gasp, before the blade dissappeared from her view. Where was it? She couldn't hear anything. She turned to Robin, and he was screaming something at her, but it was like trying to hear him through water. Her vision grew fuzzy.

"Robin?"

* * *

"Starfire! NOOOO!" Beast Boy whipped around, thunder echoing through the building, mixing with his leader's anguished cry.

"Son of a bitch!" He cursed quietly, crouching low as a dark shape flitted at the edge of his senses. They must have gotten Star, he reasoned. "Come out, you bastards! FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!" He roared into the dark.

All he got back was a haughty snicker. "Why fight like something I'm not? And I could say the same for you, couldn't I?" A peal of sinister laughter. Beast Boy swiped furiously at the darkness.

"So you got bitten by a monkey, got your skin turned green and decided to be a superhero. What's wrong? No circuses around in Africa to take you in?"

Beast Boy's eyes widened. "How do you know about that?" He hissed.

"Oh, you mean Tawaba? The villagers? How have you kept it a secret for so long?" More sinister laughter from the darkness, on all sides.

"STOP LAUGHING AT ME!" Beast Boy roared, erupting into a bear and swiping strong claws into the dark, cleaving a box in half.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Why?! I thought that you always wanted to be the clown! So I'll laugh at you. But not because I think you're funny. Just because I think you're kinda pathetic."

Then the laughter really started. It started at a low, throaty chuckle. Then it got louder, a deep throaty growl of a laugh.

Something sunk it's teeth into his shoulder and he screamed. It wasn't just anywhere on his shoulder. It was THE spot. He screamed in pain, colors and spots flashing in front of his eyes.

A boot connected with his back, sending him skidding into the dark. The noise of lips smacking reached his ears.

"You taste funny." Almost a grimace in the dark. Almost. "Like uncooked meat. Too many veggies, is my guess." Then a hiss, and something connected with his chin and sent him tumbling back. A box landed on his chest, knocking him flat on his back.

"Why don't you fight me like a man!" Beast Boy hissed venomously, rolling to his feet.

"You keep saying that. But you're no man. You're a beast."

"Shut up." Beast Boy hissed.

"You know it's true. You can transform into any _animal _you want- alive or extinct… Real or mythical."

Beast Boy's eyes narrowed. Nobody knew about THAT ability. Not even the Doom Patrol.

Who _was _this guy?

"But you can only transform into one human form, Beast Boy. _Beast Boy. _What an animalistic name. You're clinging to the one scrap of humanity you should have given up years ago!"

Beast Boy's arms went limp as the shadow's words struck home. _He was right. _Of all the animals Garfield change into, he could only revert to his original form. Hell, he hardly even thought of himself as _Garfield _anymore… Just Beast Boy.

What if he wasn't human?

What if the shadow was right?

_What if_ he _was_ a beast?

"BEAST BOY!!" Raven's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Ah, the half-demoness…" The shadow's voice said, almost longingly. "Excuse me, Garfield, but I must be going."

"RAVEN!" Beast Boy screamed, wasting no time in alerting the sorceress of the other's plot. "HE'S HEADED YOUR WAY! BE CAREFUL!"

"BEAST BOY!?" Raven shouted. He figured out where she was, and began sprinting towards her, racing the footsteps that ran alongside his. What scared him wasn't the other. It was the lust he'd heard in his voice.

* * *

Raven erected a dark energy shield as the figure came barelling out of the darkness. She blinked a bit as a very surprised Beast Boy bounced off the shield with a dull 'Bwulp!' and fell back, holding his head.

"Oooh…" He groaned, holding his head.

"Beast Boy!" She knelt next to him. "Have you seen any of the others?" He shook his head grimly. He looked confused. "No, but I think one of them got Starfire."

Raven's eyes narrowed. She was going to tear these guys limb from limb once she got her hands on them.

"Can you find them?"

Beast Boy shook his head. "No. Besides, we've got problems of our own." He pulled her to the ground and something whooshed over her head, tearing part of her cowl.

She ended up on top of Beast Boy's chest. She blushed brightly and was glad for the darkness, but pulled herself up as the rattle of chains signified their visitor was somewhere close.

"I want to taste your blood so bad, I don't think I can wait." A voice purred from somewhere nearby. She gasped and erected a shield around herself, and something hammered into it, making it waver. It was like a bear had punched her shield.

It wavered unsteadily, and Beast Boy swiped a hand at the dark, and there came a 'shrrip!' sound, of claws. A pained hiss from the other.

"Beast Boy!" She hissed. "Get behind me!"

The other chuckled. "How sweet. You would make a good couple. I bet your child's blood would taste… delicious." A growling cackle.

A spark, and then a flush of flames raced past them, singing her cloak. Beast Boy yelped in surprise.

And in front of them, a figure was illuminated in the orange flames. His pale, white skin danced with color, and his blood red eyes reflected the flames. There was a bony cap like an animal's skull covering his head with the words 'Frater Cruor' inscribed at the front.

He sneered at them, and two long, sharp teeth gleamed in the light. Something about his purple-and-gold-and-red clothing, the flowing cloak, the longish face… Seemed farmiliar. He looked younger than them, but somehow older.

"It's time you met your end. Just feel honored that you are sacrifices… to Brother Blood."

* * *

(Okay, now before you all explode, there was more than one Brother Blood. There were two in the Teen Titans, the first one is the one in the animated series, more or less. This one, Sebastian Blood II, was a kid who, by ingesting another's blood, gained their physical attributes, like stamina, speed, durability, strength, reflexes et cetera et cetera ad infinitum. The inscription on his skullcap reads 'Brother Blood' and is the ceremonial helm that all the brothers wore- 'cept in the animated series he wasn't even affiliated with the Church of Blood like they are in the comics. ANYWAYS. Sorry for the delay, still sick beyond all recognition and I'm finding it hard to move.)


	7. Chapter 7: Fallen Star

(A/N: OH MY GOD I AM SOOOO SORRY ABOUT THE UBER-LATE UPDATE! See, I've been getting my ass beaten by a cold/virus/sickness thingy, and even as I type this my head is pounding but.. IT MUST BE DOOOONE! Clair-Rae, you're right and wrong, here! See, Slade's daughter DID become Ravager. However she was the fourth person to be the Ravager, the first being one of Slade's enemies, and the third being Slade's half-brother.)

* * *

"What was it you said, Raven, about… fire?" Blood said with a wicked grin, tossing a piece of burning wood at them. Raven swatted it aside, not amused at all. Beast Boy could tell that much.

"Dude, you're even more annoying than I am!" Beast Boy growled, eyes darting from Blood to the flames around them. In a quieter voice he whispered to Raven. "Rae, can you teleport us outta here?"

"Not without knowing where to go… I don't want to risk ending up in the middle of a wall. And my head's too fuzzy to think at the moment." She put a hand to her head, a wave of nausea washing over her.

Beast Boy looked at her worriedly, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Okay… lemme just school this kid and then we'll get you outta here, okay?"

She looked at him none too reassuredly, but nodded. She had to trust him. "Just be careful, Beast Boy." She muttered. The green boy gave her a flippant smile, flashing her the thumbs-up sign. "Don't worry Rae, I'll be fine." He turned to Blood with a determined look on his face and took a step forward. Blood snickered. "Come on then, Garfield. Let's go." Beast Boy leapt at Blood with a growl, morphing into a tiger. The battle had begun.

* * *

A animalistic growl resounded through the warehouse, followed sharply by a crack of lightning. Robin stayed on the ground next to Starfire. She was bleeding badly. Robin's blood was boiling.

He wouldn't have been surprised if he himself had been the one to make the growl. He was afraid to remove the strange, oblong blade from Starfire's stomach. He didn't want to kill her. He had some experience with medical training but not enough to safely help her.

This was just the kind of situation where Robin would loved to have had Batman along. Despite all of his griping about how the Dark Knight never let him expand, Robin secretly wished his old mentor was there on most of the missions the Titans had been on.

Robin looked up as something rattled in the dark above him. He pulled out his bo staff but relaxed as familiar teal blue lights lit up segments of robotic armor in the dark, and Cyborg dropped to the floor in front of them. He seemed angry.

"Man that goddamn slade-lookin' jerk caught me up in the chains hanging from the ceiling." Cyborg complained. He started to say something else but was cut off by Starfire emitting a pained whimper.

"What the hell happened to her!?" He exclaimed angrily, eye widening. He reached hesitantly towards the blade, but stopped just short. "It was that Ravager creepo wasn't it?" Cyborg growled. Robin nodded mutely. At this rate he was just worried for Starfire's life.

"I swear I'm gonna turn that dude to a bunch 'a mush." Cyborg grumped. "God, this is ridiculous."

Starfire whimpered softly. "Robin?" She whispered softly. "Robin are you there?" Robin slipped his hand into hers. "I'm right here, Star."

"Robin, my stomach hurts." She whispered, pain seeping into her voice as she spoke. "Did something hit me, Robin?"

Robin closed his eyes. "Yeah, Starfire. Yeah, you got hit. But it'll be okay, okay? We'll get you out of here."

Starfire tried to lift her head, but whimpered weakly and let it fall back to Robin's cape, which he'd moved under her head. "It'll be okay, Star." He kissed her forehead lightly. She sighed tiredly, closing her eyes. And then the chains that hung from the ceiling rattled. Cyborg leapt to his feet, sonic cannon unfolding. "Come and get it you ugly son of a bitch." He hissed.

An angry snarl erupted violently out of the dark. "My pleasure, tin man."

And then a flash of red slammed him into the crates, and he was lost to the dark.

* * *

Tiger, velociraptor, elephant, gorilla. Whatever he tried, whatever he turned in to, Blood parried his attacks, laughing like a Joker ripoff. If Beast Boy got faster, so did Blood. If Beast Boy's strength increased, Blood matched him blow for blow. If Beast Boy turned into something more flexible, Blood slipped out of his grasp.

"What the HELL!?" Beast Boy hissed.

"Hell you say? Oh my funny little green man you have NO idea." Blood cackled, knocking Beast Boy back to where Raven was standing.

"How's that fight going for ya, Beast Boy?" She remarked sarcastically. Beast Boy narrowed his eyes, ignoring her comment. Think. Blood had bit him and then gotten stronger. Did he suck out Beast Boy's powers or something?

Beast Boy's eyes widened. No, that wasn't it. Brother Blood. Brother _Blood._ The crazy kid could match somebody's physical characteristics by ingesting their blood. So Beast Boy just had to turn into something he couldn't match. But there was nothing like that. So… he could stay himself? But he had no edge.

Of course he did, he realised.

_Nuh uh. No way. If Raven is here I can't reveal my claws. Not a chance. I can't risk her finding out I'm just that much more of a freak. _

_But if I don't, she could die. _

_Think Garfield, think._

Raven put a hand on his shoulder, as if sensing his thoughts. "Beast Boy, I know you can do it." She said. That hacked it.

_As long as I can get her out of here safe._

Beast Boy pulled off his gloves, much to Raven's surprise. Blood cackled. "Oh look, the gloves are coming off. How cu-"

Beast Boy cut off the kid's annoying rant by slicing the tips of the teeth on the skull off with his claws, making a dull 'sshhnk!' noise. Blood stared at him dumbfounded. Beast Boy could feel the surprise radiating off of Raven, too. He felt sick.

"Where's your stupid little smirk now, Kid?" Beast Boy grumped. Blood narrowed his eyes. And then they leapt at each other.

* * *

Cyborg ran through a wall of boxes and smirked as Ravager gave a 'whuff!' as they landed on him.

"Sorry little man but you'll have to do better… than… that…" Ravager had pulled himself to his feet. And stared Cyborg right in the eye. At eye level.

"Yeah. Not so little, huh tin man?" He snarled, punching Cyborgin the chin and knocking him backwards.

Ravager kept up a steady stream of attacks, not giving Cyborg any time to respond. Cyborg grunted as he whipped a steel bat out of his weapon's cache and nailed him in the gut. That hurt. He caught the other's next blow, however, with a growl. "I'll teach you to try and smear my friends ya jerk!" He held Ravager in place and fired his cannon point blank into the other's chest. Ravager snarled and was sent sailing backwards through boxes and chains.

Cyborg followed the path he'd knocked and found the man wrapped in a bunch of chains and struggling furiously.

"I SWEAR to GOD, metal man, when I get out of this I am going to rip you a new one!!" He roared. Cyborg powered down his sonic cannon wearily, waving a hand. "Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah, shut up. Get nice and cozy, because I doubt it'll be so nice down in solitary." He ran back to where Robin and Starfire were. "How's she doing?" Cyborg murmured softly.

Robin shook his head. "Not good, Cyborg. Not good."

* * *

Beast Boy was winning.

He'd unsheathed… claws… and was now winning the fight against Blood.

Raven watched in awe. They fought back and forth like an intricate dance, Beast Boy using moves she hadn't even known he'd posessed.

Blood was serious now, a snarl curling over his face. Beast Boy had cut a deep gash in that strange helmet of his, and cut a long scratch in his ribs, but so far it was an even fight. But the balance was tipping. Beast Boy threw an awkward backhand strike punch that looked as if it were made to be unruly and odd, twisting around with his body and sweeping his hand down. The blow caught Blood's arm and the other shrieked in pain. "GRAH!" He hissed, leaping back. Blood streamed in crimson rivulets down his arm.

He was about to launch back into combat with Beast Boy with newfound violence when the brooch keeping his cloak on flashed teal in a similar manner to the gems on Raven's cloak and belt.

Raven was surprised. It would seem that they were organized as well, and that was trouble.

Blood was growling in his throat. "You lucked out, Garfield. But next time- if there is one- I will NOT be so lenient. I hope you watch your back." Beast Boy leapt after him, but a flaming beam dropped between them, and when the smoke cleared, Blood was gone.

Beast Boy walked back to Raven, surprisingly calm despite the fire raging around them. "Okay let's find the others and leave- I don't wanna be here when those flames bring the building down."

Raven narrowed her eyes. "First, what's up with the-"

Beast Boy, it seemed, knew what she was going to ask about. He gave her a glare filled with so much hatred she backed away a step in surprise. But it wasn't hatred at her. She could sense that much. And who it was really directed at surprised her. Beast Boy seemed to be surprising her a lot recently.

"Don't." He said in a flat tone she'd only heard him use once before- when he'd blocked himself off emotionally during the Terra ordeal. "Let's just go find the others and leave."

Raven nodded. She didn't want to push the poor shapeshifter any farther. The emotional turmoil raging inside of him at the moment made her happy she wasn't him.

Timid gave her characteristic whimper from inside her. _"Did you see the way he looked at us? We made him angry." _

Raven followed Beast Boy, thinking to herself.

Intelligence spoke up in her mind. _"He was not mad at us. He hates himself. "_

_Why would Beast Boy hate himself _so much?

These were the thoughts that were running through her head as they approached Robin, Starfire and Cyborg. Robin looked up grimly. "Raven, I need your help." Beast Boy gasped as he saw Starfire's wound. Raven narrowed her eyes. "All right. Let's get to work."

* * *

(A/N: OH. MY. GOD. Finally another chapter done, yaaay! If I haven't convinced you already, I'M SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SOSO SO SOSOSO SOSO SORRY about the delay, but hopefully I'll be posting a lot more of these soon!)


	8. Chapter 8: Worry

(A/N: Okay… must… finish… next… chapter! Can't… keep fans… waiting… KHAAAAAAANNNNNNUH! As to where I've been, I've been sick, stressed, failing finals, and getting knocked around by school bullies. Sorry guys, I'm workin' my tail off now though!)

There was nothing but empty chains when they went back for Ravager, eliciting a furious snarl from Cyborg.

"Man I am gonna punch that dude into poundcake next time I see him!" He cried, picking up Starfire and booking for the exit with the others as flames threatened to consume them.

"Let's just get Starfire outside so I can heal her." Raven grumbled. "It'll be easier to assess the wound in some actual light, when we're not trying to escape imminent death." Robin and Beast Boy were both grimly silent, which made Raven a bit worried.

"Raven, are you sure you can heal a wound this big?" Cyborg asked, frowning a bit.

"I can try." Raven muttered. "For Star's sake."

Starfire whimpered a bit, shivering in Cyborgs arms.

"Quick, she doesn't have much time!" Robin cried, dropkicking the back doors open. They rushed out into the rain as the warehouse collapsed behind them.

"Was the dropkick really necessary?" Raven said, raising an eyebrow. Cyborg set Starfire down gently on a bus bench and stood over them, acting as a shield from the rain.

Robin and Beast Boy stood on lookout, arms crossed. Raven's healing light was the only source of illumination.

Every so often Starfire squeaked in pain and Robin gritted his teeth. Raven felt the throb of pain from Starfire, the grim resolution from Cyborg, the cold, unwavering numbness that Beast Boy had been emitting, and the pulsing, unwavering anger that Robin gave off.

"Okay… Starfire, you're healed, but you're gonna be a little sore for about a day." Raven said. "Try to keep it dry and warm." Her dry monotonous sarcasm seemed out of place- but honestly the tension in the air was killing her.

Beast Boy pointed down the street. "Look guys, an all-night clothing store. Let's get in, get some clothes, and get to Frisco."

Robin nodded. "Double layers everyone- it's gonna be cold."

* * *

Lightning boomed overhead as the titans exited the Gap. Luckily the clerk had given them the clothes on the house- honored to be helping the heroes.

Raven tugged at the black trenchcoat she'd selected and adjusted the deep-navy-blue sweater that was under that. Her black jeans seemed to perfectly match the black boots she'd chosen; the overall punkish appearance she'd gotten for herself made her feel like maybe civvies weren't so bad.

Beast Boy was wearing an eco-friendly green shirt that was three shades lighter than his skin, black jeans, and his combat boots and gloves. And nothing else. Raven was a little worried about him and the cold; but she brushed the feeling aside. He'd be fine. He knew what he was gettng into.

Cyborg was wearing an ensemble similar to the one he'd been wearing when they'd first met- an enormous sweater that was still a bit too small for him, a pair of XXXL jeans, and a thick woolen scarf.

Robin fiddled with the hood of his bright yellow-and-red rain slicker and then his green combat-fatigues. How he'd managed to keep to his colorscheme so well was anyone's guess- Raven hadn't even realized that people sold clothes in such garish colors.

Starfire, of course, had taken Robin's advice more than aptly. She was wearing four sweaters under a too-long jacket with a rain hat and three scarves. Her comical appearance reminded Raven of the time she'd gone through her metamorphosis.

"…And, we're all standing around here checking each other out because…?" Beast Boy chimed in, his mild tone shadowed with a hint of annoyance.

"Beast Boy's right. We need to get moving." Robin said, starting off down the road, clipping his utility belt on. Since Starfire's injury their silence towards one another had been broken. As Robin walked by Beast Boy he put a hand on the changeling's shoulder for a moment. Something unspoken passed between them and Robin moved on.

"Let's just get to Alcatraz and find out what we're doin' next." Cyborg grumbled. "This rain is makin' my servos rusty." Starfire hurried ahead silently to float along next to Robin, and Raven and Beast Boy were left alone.

"You gonna be okay?" Raven asked him, raising an eyebrow as she pulled the hood on her sweater up.

Beast Boy jammed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine." Raven noted, following after him.

"What, now you're concerned?" He grumbled. "Great timing Rae, guess a couple years late is better than never."

_His hostility has escalated since our run-in with Blood._ Intelligence noted.

_As long as he snaps the hell out of it- his prissy little girl-attitude is pissing me off._ Anger snarled.

_Easy Anger, we don't know what the guy's dealing with. Raven, maybe you should go find out._ Brave chimed in, and for once, Raven decided to take a page out of Starfire's book- Use a few of her emotions.

"Look, what is your problem, anyways?" Raven grumped, coming up next to him.

"My _problem _is that you won't _leave me the hell alone._" Beast Boy hissed.

Raven grabbed his arm. Beast Boy whipped around to face her. "What." It was a statement, not a question. His words said 'what' but his tone said 'back off'.

"Beast Boy, I'm worried about you." She said softly. Dimly she felt the others pointedly ignoring them.

Her soft tone got Beast Boy to relax. "You don't need to be worried about me, Rae." He said wearily. "I'll be fine." He pulled out of her grip and this time she didn't stop him. She sighed, trying to tune out the little void of black emotion that had been brewing between them all day.

* * *

The night seemed unending, as did the rain. It poured down, and within an hour Beast Boy was tired of it. There weren't any trees here to save them from the rain, no lush jungle to sleep under a fan leaf. No homely African village to return to where he could find a warm straw bed and a nice glass of water.

He was soaked. He wasn't cold. He didn't mind being wet- but he was so wet he felt it in his bones. He hadn't been this wet in a long time. He was dimly aware of Starfire floating next to him.

"Friend Beast Boy, why did you not acquire a jacket from the 'Gap'?" She asked him softly.

"Don't need one." He replied, though the bitterness in his voice from earlier was gone.

"Surely you will catch a cold, though." She said, pulling off one of her jackets and handing it to him. Beast Boy looked at it for a moment. It was a light green color- dim and dull like the forest. He had a suspicion she had picked it out in case he got cold. "Thanks Star." He murmured, pulling it on. It was wet, but it was warm. She smiled at him, put a hand on his shoulder, then floated up to Robin again. Beast Boy subconsciously moved to the center of their group. He hated being on the outside of a circle in times like these- hunter instincts ingrained into his mind from years in the jungles of Africa. He slipped his hands back into his pockets and sighed. At least they weren't facing any major problems now.

"Hold up Titans. We have a civilian." Robin said, stopping by an elderly african woman who was sitting on a bench. "Can we help you?" He asked her. She looked up at him with kindly, innocent eyes and said "Samahani? Unaweza kusema nini?"

Robin blinked. "Um… what?" He said.

The old woman blinked. "Je kuzungumza Kiswahili?"

Beast Boy put a hand on Robin's shoulder. "I got this. Gani tunaweza kukusaidia na, mzee mmoja?"

The old lady's face lit up. "Oh! Asante kwa kutoa aina. Mimi wanaonekana wamepoteza nija zangu. Je, unaweza kiniambia wapi kituo cha basi ni kijana mmoja?"

Robin blinked, becoming more confused by the moment. Starfire blinked several times. "Um… what?"

Raven frowned, scrunching up her eyes. "Did any of you catch that?"

Cyborg was looking at his instruments. "I think she's speakin' Swahili."

Beast Boy nodded. "Yeah, she wants to know where the bus station is."

The others looked at him in utter surprise. "You understand her?" Raven said.

"You got all that?" Robin said.

"What is the 'Swahili'?" Starfire asked.

"You speak Swahili?" Cyborg said. All four of them looked absolutely dumbfounded.

Beast Boy nodded. "Yeah, one sec." He turned back to the old lady. "Kituo cha basi ni chini ya mitaani juu kushoto yako, ishara ya ni picha ya basi na msimamo mtu karibu yake. Eneo ameketi ni mifuniko."

The old lady bowed, then stood and hobbled off down the street.

"Where… did you learn how to speak Swahili?" Raven asked suspiciously.

"Does it matter?" Beast Boy muttered. "I got her where she needed to go."

Robin narrowed his eyes. "As soon as we get to Alcatraz you're going to explain yourself." He said. "We don't keep secrets on this team."

Beast Boy looked as if he were going to protest; then he just looked scared. But only for a milisecond. Robin caught it.

"Fine." Beast Boy muttered. "Let's just go then."

* * *

In the hour and a half that had passed, Starfire had grown increasingly worried about her friend Beast Boy since meeting the old african lady on the bench. He had grown quiet and reserved- it was never a good sign when Beast Boy grew quiet and reserved. "Friend Beast Boy, is there anything wrong?"

Beast Boy shook his head. " 'm fine, Star. Don't worry about me." He flashed her a smile that didn't convince her for a second.

Starfire raised an eyebrow. "You do not convince me with your words."

"Really Star, I'm fine. Just tired." Well, he did look tired- but she was sure something was bothering him. She knew he wouldn't change his mind about talking to her about it. Sometimes, Beast Boy could be just as stubborn as Cyborg and just as quiet as Robin. So she left the subject alone.

She floated back to Raven. "Friend Raven, I am worried about friend Beast Boy."

Raven shrugged. "If he doesn't want to talk about it, he doesn't want to talk about it. It's not our place to make him talk about something he doesn't want to talk about."

Starfire frowned lightly. "But-"

"No buts, Starfire." Raven said, with a note in her tone that Starfire couldn't quite identify for a moment. Then she realized. It was worry. Raven was truly worried for Beast Boy. That made Starfire happy. She smiled lightly. "All right then, I will stop… pestering? Pestering you and him about it now." Raven raised an eyebrow- but Starfire was already floating away, content with knowing what she now knew.

* * *

Tick, tock, tick, tock. Cyborg had fallen into the steady rhythm presented by his internal clock. The night was unyielding and solemn as they trudged. Rain had soaked all of them to the bone- except maybe Starfire- through their clothing. The only two who didn't seem to mind were Beast Boy and Robin, and Cyborg suspected that they'd both had plenty of experience ignoring rain.

"Um, this remind anybody else of that trek with the Doom Patrol?" Cyborg asked, blinking a bit. He noted that Beast Boy stiffened up when he mentioned the more famous superhero team- which he had once been part of.

"Yes, _Garfield, _doesn't this seem familiar?" Raven teased with a smirk, crossing her arms. Cyborg watched Beast Boy stiffen up more at the mention of his real name.

"No. That was a jungle. This is urban- no trees to give us cover." Beast Boy said with a small frown.

"Why do you like the jungle so much more than the city anyways, Beast Boy?" Robin asked, obviously not realizing the effect it would have. If Beast Boy got any stiffer he'd break like a board.

"Does it have to do with your past? Tell us friend, why have you been so secretive about your origins?"

"Yeah Beast Boy, you're even worse than me AND Robin. At least I told you I was a half demon."

"Come on, BB, spill!"

"NO!" Beast Boy shouted, throwing his arms over his head. "Why are you all so obsessed with my past! GIVE IT UP ALREADY! I'm NOT GOING TO TELL YOU!" Beast Boy's furious voice echoed off the stoic buildings- and it was then that Cyborg realized where they were. They were in the ruins of Old Jump City- the section Slade had destroyed.

"Guys. Look." He gestured at their location, and instantly Beast Boy fell silent. They were standing over the very manhole that would lead them to Slade's base- and Terra.

Beast Boy blinked. "Hey, didn't Slade have… um… that car thing that he always drove around?" He said meekly, scratching the back of his head.

Even Starfire had to raise an eyebrow at the weakness of the excuse to visit the old hideout.

Robin's eyes narrowed. "Maybe he did have some sort of transportation. Let's go down and find out." More like, go down and find out if Slade left anything of value behind. Cyborg pulled the manhole covering off and they looked down into darkness.

"Let's see if we don't get lucky."

* * *

(A/N: Sorry if this chapter is a bit of a letdown- I need to get back in the groove after being repeatedly decimated by finals and school. But at long last, here is the next chapter! Stay tuned folks, it's going to be a bumpy ride.)


	9. Chapter 9: Goodbye

(A/N: All right gentiles and gentresses, here's the next chapter of The Big Leagues. I'm warning you now, there's some… not so happy stuff in this chapter, and it gets a bit bloody- not too bloody, but a bit. If you don't like it, I suggest you wait for the next chapter, where I'll be doing a recap of the story so far. Enjoy!)

* * *

The steady 'plunk, plunk, plunk' of the sewer water unnerved Beast Boy. He scratched his arm a bit, looking around.

"Um, dudes? Am I the only one getting-"

"A wicked scary vibe?" Raven finished for him. "Let's not forget what happened the last time you said that." Her dry tone echoed dully in the underground caverns.

"Keep searching. There has to be something here of va- I mean, some transportation here." Robin said. Too focused on learning more about Slade to even lie properly.

"Here's his control room." Cyborg said, letting his electronic eye rove over the room. "I'm not pickin' anything abnormal up on my sensors. Beast Boy, can you get anything?"

Beast Boy frowned. "Nothin'. We need to move deeper, I think."

Robin nodded. "Beast Boy is right. Slade would know better than to keep everything so easy to find. Deeper. Come on."

Soon they arrived at a junction- five tunnels wormed into the dark of the base.

"Team, branch out. I don't care who goes where, but stay in radio contact."

Beast Boy knew Robin knew what he had in mind and was grateful for the opportunity to scout out the middle tunnel- and what lay at the end.

They split up, moving deeper into the base as it branched off into five paths. Beast Boy didn't care about finding Slade's leftovers. There was only one thing he cared about finding here. He walked up to the beaten, dented, scarred steel doors that separated him from the person he'd longed to see for so long. He lifted his hand to the button.

"Fried. Shoulda known." He grumbled. He turned into a gorilla, worming his fingers into the door. He growled, then pushed the door all the way open. He transformed back to normal, then looked around. Pitch black. The magma had long since hardened, and without the lighting system they usually brought to visit Terra (Which, they seldom did any more) it was too dark to see, save the outline of the door and his shadow from the light behind him.

Beast Boy worked his way along the wall to where the videoscreens had been and powered them on. He could see his friends now. He watched Robin go through some old boxed robot parts, saw Cyborg headed towards the garage, and saw Raven and Starfire meeting up from a pair of dead ends.

He was about to turn and just leave- obviously nothing would be happening- when he heard a small whimper from the dark behind him.

"B-Beast Boy?"

* * *

"NO!" Raven's head snapped up from her communicator as she heard Beast Boy's faint, anguished cry ring out through the tunnels. "Robin, I'm heading to Beast Boy's location."

"You heard it too, huh?"

"Perhaps friend Beast Boy is trapped under Friend Terra's statue again?" Starfire said from next to her.

"I don't think so, Star- Something's up. Headed to your position now." Cyborg's voice crackled over the commlink. Raven flew down the hallway towards Beast Boy's position. If Terra's petrified form really had fallen on him again (Which wouldn't surprise her, it'd happened before- Beast Boy was a klutz at the best of times) he probably would have just called for help.

But this was different. Right before Beast Boy's cry had gone out she'd felt a surge of deep, emotional pain and sorrow. Something else was wrong.

She heard Beast Boy sobbing even from outside the two giant, beaten steel doors. She felt a modicum of fear swelling within her as Starfire slammed the doors aside- and threw the light of her green star energy on the room.

"X'hal…" Starfire said unbelievingly.

There, at the base of Terra's statue, sat Beast Boy.

And cradled in his arms was Terra.

* * *

By the time Cyborg reached them, Raven and Starfire were stuck in place, riveted with disbelief. Beast Boy was hunched over Terra, in the flesh, her white blouse and skirt stained with blood from a grievous wound.

"Beast Boy… Don't cry." She murmured weakly. Beast Boy looked stricken- to the point where it made Raven's heart hurt.

"Terra, how did… how did this happen? What happened to you?" He asked, voice hoarse. "Who did this to you?"

Terra gave a weak, dazed smile and reached up to put a hand to Beast Boy's cheek. Cyborg was talking hurriedly to Robin through his comlink, and above them the faint wail of ambulance and police sirens could be heard.

"Beast Boy, I never meant for you to-" She was cut off as she gave a racking cough, and even if it were pitch- dark Raven would know she had coughed up blood. "For you to see me like this… He told me you… you wouldn't find me."

"Terra, don't worry. We'll get you help. I promise. We'll help you. You'll be okay." Beast Boy said, tears flowing from his eyes.

Terra shook her head. "We both know that I'm not goin' anywhere. I got no more lines in this play."

"No! I won't let you die like this!" He hissed, putting his hand over hers on his face. "I lo-" Terra put a finger to his lips, shaking her head slightly. "No you don't, Beast Boy. You think you do… but I hurt you too bad. And I'm so sorry." Her voice faltered slightly and she closed her eyes for a moment.

Raven was dimly aware of Robin and Cyborg talking behind her. Her eyes were riveted to the tragic scene in front of her. Who could have _done _this? No villain they'd ever met had really _killed_ them, or even tried. Not even Slade. Not even the Brotherhood of Evil. Her father had, but he hadn't even attacked them directly until it was far too late for him to win.

But this… Raven felt the pain welling out of Beast Boy and his anguish and shame. Terra seemed oddly at peace, given the situation. Raven stood and watched, hoping Beast Boy wouldn't say what she knew was coming.

"Raven." He said, hurriedly, desperately. "Y-you can heal her, right? You have to h-help her. Please."

Raven shook her head. "She's wounded too badly, and it's been too long. She's lost too much blood."

"Raven, _Please!_" Beast Boy wailed. "You have to _help her!_"

Terra gave a small, weak laugh, which dissolved into a coughing fit. "Beast Boy you can't… can't help me now. I know how much it hurts, and it'll hurt, but you'll get over it. You got over me before. You can do it again. He promised me that… that you'd get over it."

"WHO promised you, Terra? Who did this to you?" Robin had spoken- she heard the barely contained rage in her leaders voice that she hadn't expected.

Terra's eyes strayed from Beast Boy's face to Robin's. "Robin… Can you forgive me? For… for what I did? I'm so sorry. All I gotta say is that, I'm sorry and… I'd take it all back, if I could. All of you." She looked around at everyone- Raven, Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Robin.

"Terra, you don't need our forgiveness." Beast Boy said softly, brushing a stray strand of blonde hair from her face.

"You already have it, girl." Cyborg said with a small, sad smile.

"You always have." Starfire said with a sorrowful frown.

Robin was silent for a moment. "You will always be a titan, Terra. And a friend."

Terra looked at Raven. Raven didn't know what to do.

_Think this over. Said Intelligence._

_Consider the consequences. Said Wisdom._

_Ignore her. Said Crass._

_Hate her. Said Anger._

_Cry. Said Timid._

_Do what you can. Said Bravery._

_Forgive her. Said Affection. _

Raven's eyes watered slightly. She pulled up her hood. "Terra… I forgive you." She said softly.

The look on Terras face made it seem as if she'd never turned evil- she was glowing with happiness. "Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it. And I'm sorry."

"Who did this to ya, Terra? We'll find him and bash his face in." Cyborg growled.

"I didn't… I didn't get his name but he had these really weird… really weird red eyes. And that skull helmet thingy. It looked really weird. Definitely a fashion 'don't'." She chuckled weakly.

Beast Boy's eyes widened in realization. Raven's eyes narrowed in fury.

"Good-bye, friend." Starfire said sadly.

She leaned up and kissed Beast Boy gently on the cheek, smiled at him, and closed her eyes.

Her hand fell from Beast Boy's grip, leaving a bloody handprint on his cheek. His eyes never left her face. Terra let out a long, peaceful sigh... and then was still.

Beast Boy's wail of anguish could be heard across the city.

* * *

Outside the rain didn't seem so uncalled for anymore. The paramedics had arrived five minutes too late- and when they took Terra out of Beast Boy's arms and tried to resuscitate her he sat there motionless, looking as if his soul had left him. He was just an empty shell. He felt dead inside- Raven was disturbed by the utter absence of emotion pouring out of him.

Outside, the paramedics had seated them on the back of an EMT. They had blankets and coffee.

"Beast Boy, how did you stumble upon friend Terra?" Starfire asked. Raven was about to jump in when Robin interjected.

"Starfire, let Beast Boy have a moment. It takes… some time to get over losing someone." He said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. They moved away and left Beast Boy alone.

Raven crossed her arms and tried to quiet her raging emotions. Anger was shouting through her tears at her. Affection was crying with Timid in the corner. Intelligence and Wisdom were meditating, which meant they were both sad, too. Brave was trying not to cry. Happy was eerily silent. She hadn't heard from the emotion in a while. That worried her.

"Man, I never thought- who woulda thought… I can't believe she really was alive." Cyborg said softly. "BB was tellin' the truth."

"We should have listened to him." Robin agreed, not sounding as sorrowful as Cyborg.

"Gee, how shocking. We didn't listen to Beast Boy and something went wrong." Raven grumbled. "Does anyone else sense a trend here?" She ignored the glare Robin shot at her. It was true.

"Well, she does have a point." Cyborg said. "I think we need to face it guys- BB ain't the constant prankster he was at the beginning of our adventures."

Raven closed her eyes, deep in thought. She tried to get anything-_ anything-_ from Beast Boy, but he was emotionless. No anger, no sadness. It was like he'd shut down.

Eventually a medic walked over to them. He looked tired and disappointed. "So, what were you kids doing down there anyways?"

"We were looking for anything Slade left behind. It was his old base." Robin said. "We needed transportation to Alcatraz in San Francisco. We found… Terra."

The medic scratched his head. "Look, I'm real sorry. She was too far gone. But if you guys need transport, the med chopper over there is from Good Samaritan Hospital, over in San Jose. From there it's only about an hours' drive, and I'm sure the police would be happy to give you a lift."

Cyborg frowned a bit, deep in thought. "You know, there's a S.T.A.R. Labs facility in San Francisco, a Metahuman Studies division. If your chopper can drop us off at Good Sam I can arrange to have a S.T.A.R chopper meet us there, and then we'll be in San Francisco."

"That's an excellent idea, Cyborg." Robin said. "…But call ahead and uh… make sure there aren't any chemicals in the area. We don't want anything else for Beast Boy to worry about." Cyborg nodded and walked off a distance, hitting his comlink.

Robin looked at Raven. "You want to go get Beast Boy?"

Raven raised an eyebrow. "… Why me?"

Robin sighed. "He needs a friend who will understand right now. Cyborg is otherwise occupied. Starfire is… not that understanding, and I'm… Well, you're the one of the two of us he's least hostile toward." Though not for lack of provocation, Raven thought bitterly.

"Still, are you sure that _I'm _the best one for the job? The best one to go help him through his emotions?" Robin scratched his head. At least she knew he understood where she was coming from.

Robin gave her a blank stare.

"That's not gonna work on me, Robin."

And he stared.

"Robin, stop it."

And he stared.

"… Fine, I'll go." She grumbled. "Enough of the stare." She pulled her hood up and walked back over towards Beast Boy.

He looked up at her for a moment then back down at the ground. "Hey."

Raven sat down next to him. "So… we have a chopper waiting. You wanna go?"

"Might as well." He murmured. He stood and gave her a half-hearted attempt at a smile. "Definitely faster'n flyin'."

Raven nodded then turned. She walked with Beast Boy back towards where the chopper was waiting. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, Beast Boy. I know-" She stopped. She knew what? She didn't really know the pain of losing someone. The only person she'd really ever lost was her father, Trigon- and she didn't exactly miss him.

"…It's okay, Rae." He said. He tried noticeably to sound upbeat but it made him sound kind of miserable. "I'll get over it."

Raven shook her head and put a hand on his shoulder. "Beast Boy, I know it must be hard. But remember, you don't need to be…" She took an intake of breath. "You don't need to be alone all the time. I learned that lesson the hard way."

Beast Boy gave her a small, grateful smile. "Thanks, Raven." He stepped onto the helicopter with her and they were zooming off towards California.

Beast Boy looked back out the small window at the gathering of policemen and ambulances as they slowly drifted from the place that had haunted his nightmares for so long- and now they would again, for a different reason.

* * *

(A/N: Heady stuff! Yes I know, this is a new mechanic in the story- nobody's died yet. But the Titans are now faced with an enemy who's not afraid to do anything… even if it comes to killing.)


End file.
